RISING electricity prices are also encouraging ordinary people to look for new sources of energy. Eduard Pálesch, a retired forestry worker and a fan of electrical devices, is one positive example. Twenty-eight years ago he constructed a small hydroelectric power station based on his own design, the TASR newswire wrote in late March.
Pálesch had long considered how to harness the power of Chvojnica, the local brook in Malinová which flows directly in front of his house. After he studied the available literature and discussed the issue with others who had experience in the matter, he designed his own power station. He now uses less than one tenth of the power of the water in the brook to generate electricity. The electricity his device produces lights his workshop; he also occasionally uses it to power his radio as well as other small electrical appliances. The power station requires little maintenance and is in operation throughout the year, except when the brook freezes.
So far Pálesch has generated and consumed about 200 kWh of electricity, TASR wrote. He has had no imitators, even though he believes that the brook could power the village’s public lighting. He has already offered to cooperate with the municipality and prepare a project to construct a bigger municipal hydroelectric power station.
While in the past local officers turned a deaf ear to his proposal, the current mayor, Mária Luprichová, is more responsive. She said that it may now be time to dust off the plan. However, everything depends on the availability of sufficient funds to harness the local brook.
