Norway’s first year-round indoor ski arena chooses CO₂

SNØ, Norway’s first year-round indoor ski arena, in Lørenskog (near Oslo), will be cooled by a CO₂ transcritical system.

Leading OEM Carrier Commercial Refrigeration, with over 10,000 CO₂ installations in Europe, says the PowerCO₂OL installation at SNØ will be the largest CO₂ transcritical installation in Norway.

“Carrier's CO₂ system meets our need for a long-term, cost-effective solution for Norway’s first indoor ski arena that will allow visitors of all ages to enjoy winter year-round,” said Ing. Petter Nome, CEO of Ipnas (a consultant on the project for SNØ).

The ski arena, slated to open in January 2020, will use three PowerCO₂OL racks to deliver 3.1 MW of cooling power.

The PowerCO₂OL, integrating Carrier’s CO₂OLtec EVO modulating vapour ejector technology as a standard feature to achieve high energy efficiency, will maintain temperatures at -4^oC and be able to reach as low as -12^oC.

SNØ’s 36,000 m² snow area will have a 2 km cross-country trail, and three 500m slalom slopes for beginners.

The indoor ski arena hopes to attract 400,000 visitors in its first year of operation – 2020.