Border Mail
Friday 2/5/2008, Page: 4
A cloud seeding trial in NSW's Snowy Mountains region is to be extended in the hope of providing benefits to irrigators, skiers and the environment. NSW Energy Minister Ian Macdonald said the program, which caused changes within a cloud resulting in additional snowfall, would now run until 2014. The cloud seeding target area will also be increased by approximately 1000 sq km to 2250 sq km.
Mr Macdonald said the project, which began in 2004, aims to determine the effectiveness of cloud seeding in increasing natural snowfalls and inflows to storages of the Snowy Mountains scheme. He said if the trial was successful it would result in the creation of more renewable hydroelectricity and less carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
"This is a true scientific research project which will have significant benefits for NSW and the Murray-Darling Basin," he said. "The original six-year trial will be extended in geographical area and also operate for a further five years." Cloud seeding involves dispensing small amounts of silver iodide and an inert tracing agent into winter storm clouds between May and September. Snowy Hydro Limited has already committed $20 million to the trial.
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