In Aomori, a coastal city in northern Japan nestled between the Hakkōda Mountains and Mutsu Bay, snow meets sea. Located just over 700 kilometers from Tokyo, it is one of the regions where it snows the most on the planet.
According to data from the AccuWeather service, Aomori tops the list of major cities in the world in terms of snowfall, with an annual average of around eight meters. The intensity with which it snows in this Japanese town has made its nearly 300,000 inhabitants decide to get something positive out of this weather condition, in which they have found an opportunity to generate electricity.
Of necessity, virtue
Aomori has found an opportunity to generate electricity in snowfall
Aomori, Tohoku, Japan, the city where it snows the most in the world
It is necessary to take into account the enormous logistical efforts that this region requires; Only in the last year, 5,900 million yen, about 42 million euros, were allocated to remove snow, according to Japan Times. The explanation for the incessant snowfall lies in its geographical position, the altitude of the mountains and its proximity to the cold air of Northeast Asia.
These conditions have made Aomori a resilient city, capable of taking advantage of its circumstances. The University of Electro-Communications of Tokyo (UEC) and the start-up company TI Forte have gotten down to work to generate electricity from snow, according to the magazine Interesting Engineering.
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A few weeks ago, operators of the startup Forte reinforced the insulation of an abandoned swimming pool in Aomori in order to preserve the accumulated snow inside and thus explore its feasibility to generate energy. If possible, the region would have an alternative renewable source to photovoltaic or wind installations.
The generation of energy from snow represents an alternative renewable source
The investigation, which began last December, will continue until March. The intention of the experts is to take advantage of the game of temperatures, that is, their contrasts. Koji Enoki, a UEC researcher, explained to the newspaper Nikkei Asia that “the greater the temperature differences, the greater the efficiency of power generation”.
Aomori, Tohoku, Japan, the city where it snows the most in the world
To do this, heat transfer tubes have been installed in the snow, which has a lower temperature than the outside air, heated by the sun, giving it a strong contrast capable of generating currents in a turbine system.
The researchers are confident that the system, based on convection currents, will be just as efficient as solar installations, being much more profitable. However, the proposal presents great challenges, such as the need to have large facilities to store snow or hot air in the coldest months.
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The team made up of the UEC and TI Forte has set out to take advantage of the city’s hot springs. Jun Kasai, CEO of the startupdeclared for the newspaper Japan Times that these waters “are a unique source of renewable energy in a region with heavy snowfall.”
If the experiment works, this heat transfer-based system aims to cross the border of Aomori and offer a solution to regions with similar meteorological characteristics. From Forte they claim that “solving local problems leads to solving problems at the national level”.
