Zoran Đukić, a professor at the "Ivan Uskoković" Mechanical School in Podgorica, built a mini hydroelectric power plant on his estate in Veruša.
He came up with the idea of embarking on a demanding project in the desire to provide himself and his family with a constant supply of electricity, given that power outages on Verusha were frequent.
"It thunders, the energy disappears, and in order to solve that problem, I thought about how to build a mini power plant. I tried it and saw that it could work," Djukic said.
The advantage in the construction of the power plant was represented by a small river that passes through his property, whose power he used for the production of electricity.
After several years of improvement and adjustments on the elements of the power plant, a year ago he created the final version, which currently produces 10 kilowatts of electricity per hour.
"It is known that the average household consumes a maximum of 7 and a half kilowatts of electricity per day, while my mini hydro power plant, even when it is not working at full capacity, produces 240 kilowatts per day," Đukić explained.
As particularly significant, he points out the fact that the construction of the power plant itself is not expensive. Its value is around three thousand euros, and the value of the electricity it can produce, on a daily basis, is around 24 euros.
"This means that it could be repaid within just a few months," Đukić points out and adds that, apart from economic profitability, the power plant does not endanger the environment in any way.
He notes that his power plant does not have an accumulation, nor does it interrupt the flow of the river, that they do not endanger the fish stock, and that they enrich the water with oxygen.
"Part of the water is caught by the boards, rises half a meter or a meter, then falls on the paddles, from the paddles it is transferred via the transmission to the generator that produces electricity," explains Đukić and adds that the generator is his idea.
"I made a new generator that can be used for these purposes and is not expensive at all," Djukic said.
He considers that water is an invaluable resource that we have in large quantities, and that it is a shame not to use it.
"Only 13 to 17 percent of Montenegro's water capacity is used. We are a rich environment," Đukić believes.
He offered the Ministry of Education a project for all primary schools located in rural areas, which are next to the river, but he did not receive a positive response.
Đukić does not want to stop at this project only. He states that he is working on a hybrid power plant system project where electricity would be obtained from water, wind, and solar energy.
He believes that it is very important to think about the production of green energy, and that its advantages would be especially significant for residents of rural areas where it is difficult to provide electricity and where it is necessary to run wires, poles for just a few houses...
Đukić enjoys research work and has already devised numerous innovations. In addition to his work as a professor and teaching seven subjects, he states that he plans to patent his invention, and that he is also working on his doctoral thesis. So far, he has published over 20 scientific papers in the field of mechanical engineering.
In the future, in addition to working on power plants, he wants to build a water-powered ski lift, as well as an electric vehicle.
"I draw projects on the computer and when I have money, I invest them. I have quite a few, but there is a lack of funds. The professor's salary is low..." said Đukić.
He assesses that it is very difficult, "practically impossible" to engage in scientific work in Montenegro.
"It's very difficult in technology. If you don't have your own funds, it's hard to get them from someone else to do something. Doing science without a laboratory is impossible. You have to prove everything you claim, and you don't invest in technology," he believes.
It is necessary to invest in education, young people are not interested in mechanical engineering
Đukić has been working in educational institutions for 27 years, and his past experience shows that young people are not particularly interested in mechanical engineering.
He believes that it is necessary to invest significantly more money in education.
"I was on a visit to Germany and I saw that children were studying the latest products and that they were available to them. Only the old, used ones come to us..." said Đukić.
He believes that significant investments are also needed at a higher educational level, which would prevent highly qualified staff from leaving the country.
Although he had tempting offers from abroad, he still decided to work in the Montenegrin environment, because since high school, his desire was to contribute to his innovations in Montenegro.
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