Solar and wind are the two most commonly used natural phenomena to generate renewable energy, but a city in northern Japan thinks it can tap into a forgotten resource it has in abundance: snow. A test drive in the city of Aomori will start next month and will run until March. The city will run the trial in collaboration with Forte, a local information technology startup, and Tokyo Telecommunication University.

The test will involve dumping snow lifted by city plows into a pond inside a closed school. Electricity will be produced from the temperature difference between the snow and the outside air.

The heat exchange tubes will be placed in the snow, which is a source of cold air. Meanwhile, the outside air is heated by the sun. This temperature difference is used to create a convection current in the coolant inside the turbine. The convection current turns the turbine to generate electricity.

Koji Enoki, an associate professor at the University of Electronic Communications, developed the system. It is estimated that this process can generate electricity as efficiently as solar power. Electricity from snow is expected to be produced at low costs. Similarly, Japanese shipping company Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) plans to commercialize a system that generates electricity by taking advantage of the temperature difference between the surface of the water and the depths of the ocean.

MOL aims to produce electricity by 2025 at a price of around 20 Yen (14 cents) per kilowatt hour. According to the Japanese ministry’s projections, this will be less than the cost of offshore wind power and oil-fired thermal power in 2030. economy, commerce and industry. Snow energy uses a larger temperature difference than ocean heat conversion, so generating electricity is likely to cost even less.

There are also plans to use the heat from the hot springs to create even greater temperature fluctuations. The northeastern region of Japan has many hot spring resorts with abundant snow. One of them is Sukayu Onsen in Aomori.

“The larger the temperature difference, the higher the efficiency of power generation,” said Enoki.

Hot spring inns can declare that their hostels are powered by the accumulated snow. Mini-hotels can create new demands, such as seminars on reducing carbon emissions.

“We look forward to this leading to new business,” said a representative from Aomori’s new business support office.

Aomori spends tens of millions of dollars each year clearing snow from the roads. Snow often falls into the ocean. If snow energy is available, larger plants with the extra space will also be able to receive the harvested snow. The heat generated by the plants can efficiently generate electricity through the system. Separate snow feeding systems will be developed for businesses and households during the test.

“that’s how we’ll do it [система] “It can move to smaller customers, such as solar power generation,” said Jun Kasai, President of Forte. Wide application of the snow generator will ease the problems with the power supply in the winter period.

Snow energy is considered to have a lower environmental impact than other types of renewable energy. In July, Kansai Electric Power canceled plans to build a wind farm because it would be located near a national park. Solar energy produces used solar panels that must be disposed of. However, melted snow can be disposed of like regular sewage.

Kasai was inspired to use snow to generate electricity when he heard of a European startup using sand to generate electricity. He also said that the new profit power system could provide a solution for European countries experiencing energy crisis due to the war in Ukraine.

“I aim to generate electricity from snow in colder parts of Europe and elsewhere as a low-cost method of generating electricity from renewable sources at an acceptable cost of implementation,” Kasai said. Source