When snow arrives in the heart of winter, we often tend to turn up the heating and give up on the prospect of having access to electricity produced by solar panels. But for these researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), this is far from inevitable. Indeed, the research of the team led by Professor Richard Kaner and researcher Maher El-Kady tends to demonstrate that snow could be true white gold in terms of renewable energy.
Static electricity at the service of our light bulbs
The researchers have been working for several years on a solution called Snow-TENG, for snow-based triboelectric nanogenerator. Behind this acronym lies an idea that is both simple and brilliant: since snow naturally generates static electricity, why not use it to produce current?
Concretely, snow is positively charged and likes to give up electrons. To capture this energy, the researchers looked for a material with the opposite charge, capable of recovering these electrons efficiently. And after testing a multitude of materials, it was ultimately silicone that managed to stand out, thanks to its low-cost manufacturing and wide availability.
The Snow-TENG device is designed to be installed on photovoltaic panels, in order to capture the powder that accumulates on their surface during winter, precisely when they become less effective. Instead of leaving energy idle, the Snow-TENG takes over and continues to generate electricity, even when the sun is hidden behind the clouds.
Currently, the system remains modest in terms of power output. But researchers are optimistic: by improving the materials used and the design of the devices, they believe the technology could become a viable complement to solar panels, particularly in regions where winter is long and harsh.
