Harnessing Solar Energy through Solar Snow Fences
A 100ft field implementation of the proposed solar snow fence is conducted In Glyndon, Minnesota. The implementation process starts with the manufacturing of solar stripe frames, U connection with steel posts, helical piling, electrical power harvest and storage, electrical usage in snow melting, and monitoring of the solar snow fence systems. A 12-ft lab prototype was first built, and verification of the monitoring sensors and the efficiency of the solar snow fence has been completed. All the sensors have reached more than 95% accuracy and an average of 829 W power was produced through the 12-ft prototype. The full 100-ft solar snow fence assembly and field construction were completed in August 2023. In the past 6 months, the solar snow fence has proven to work well with different ambient conditions, and the temperature, moisture, wind speed, solar intensity, electrical voltage, and current are collected. The correlation between the solar intensity and the power harvested has been created and an average of 11-25 kW*h energy has been produced daily. The energy produced is used to melt snow effectively.
Language
- English
Project
- Status: Active
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Contract Numbers:
1036338 WO#4
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Sponsor Organizations:
Minnesota Department of Transportation
395 John Ireland Boulevard
St Paul, MN United States 55155 -
Managing Organizations:
Minnesota Department of Transportation
395 John Ireland Boulevard
St Paul, MN United States 55155 -
Performing Organizations:
P.O. Box 6050
Fargo, ND United States 58108-60050 -
Principal Investigators:
Yang, Mijia
- Start Date: 20220630
- Expected Completion Date: 20250630
- Actual Completion Date: 0
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Electric power generation; Implementation; Sensors; Snow fences; Solar collectors; Solar energy
- Geographic Terms: Minnesota
- Subject Areas: Design; Energy; Transportation (General);
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01953960
- Record Type: Research project
- Source Agency: Minnesota Department of Transportation
- Contract Numbers: 1036338 WO#4
- Files: RIP, STATEDOT
- Created Date: Apr 30 2025 4:24PM