Sapporo Ecopolis : Snow Energyby | 26-04-2015 18:08 |
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    Nowadays, energy alternative is really needed because of fossil fuel energy is in limited amount. Day by day, human population is also increasing so the demand of energy become higher. So, people start to think about alternative energy. As good as possible, local alternative energy resources should be explored. Many of us still do not know regarding snow energy because we do not live nearby north pole. But, people who live in that area, especially in place that heavy snow will be occurred in the winter, know how difficult live in that area. In Sapporo Japan, in the city that I currently stay, government try to manage heavy snow that happen every year. Located in the northernmost island of Japan, every year Sapporo has more than 1 meter snow in its urban area. In the winter, Sapporo people also live in the below zero degree Celsius and they energy to heat up their room is necessary to keep them survive. So, government is applying technology to convert snow to be renewable energy, in order to make Sapporo as ecopolis. So, what they do on snow? They keep the snow during winter and keep the cold until next season that need that cold. Beside that the cold is also used for cooling down cooler storage. It can reduce energy and cost that usually used for cooling down room temperature. There are some places to store snow, such as glass pyramid in Moerunuma park, Yamaguchi graveyard, and snow tank nearby Sapporo Station. Beside storaging cold, those places are also flowing water to the lower places for heat exchange. So, let we think about new alternative energy from our local resources. If we live in the windy place, we can utilize wind existence for new energy resource, like Sapporo with their snow. |
