Clean Energy in Snowy Niseko

 News Desk: Niseko, in Hokkaido, has some of Japan’s heaviest snowfall, with great powder snow that attracts over 1.7 million visitors a year. Niseko protects its environment through clean energy initiatives like snow for refrigeration, hot springs for heating, and systems utilizing underground heat.

Although it falls to -10°C in winter here, deep underground it stays 15°C year round. Heating systems based on this principle have greatly reduced the town’s CO2 emissions. In another initiative, local high school students are experimenting with using underground heat to grow winter vegetables.