Management and Assessment of the Potential for Electricity Generation from Surface Water Sources in Non-Industrialized Areas Near Czestochowa
Purpose: This article identifies the possibilities for constructing or reactivating small hydropower plants (at disused mills) in Częstochowa County. The vast majority of watercourses in Częstochowa County meet the conditions for the construction of such facilities. In the era of the energy transition, the key trends in the development of electricity generation from surface water sources include diversification of electricity sources, spatial decentralisation of generation sources, the use of modern grid solutions in the power sector, and the creation of local energy storage facilities. Design/Methodology/Approach: This article proposes a concept for managing existing or potential local small hydropower plants. It has been examined and demonstrated that the quantitative parameters of the watercourses in the study area (although the data are several decades old) allow for the construction of such power plants, and that the soil quality (low permeability) is suitable for their development. This conceptual solution has not been presented elsewhere and is likely to be a novelty for which no equivalent has been found in the domestic or international literature. Findingss: The majority of the data were sourced from documents dating from 2005 and the 1920s. This article does not present any new field measurements. It presents the author’s preliminary research and is not a technical paper; therefore, it presents for the first time only the management concept for such small hydropower solutions. Practical Implications: This article presents one of the ways of generating energy from renewable surface water sources in Częstochowa County. In the past, this energy was used in this area to power various types of watermills (e.g. grain mills, groat mills and steam mills). Today, hydropower is one of several alternatives to fossil fuels. Hydropower plants offer low operating costs and can be put into operation immediately; they can supplement other renewable energy sources considerably. Originality/Value: The reactivation of disused mills and/or the construction of small hydropower plants could provide an alternative source of renewable energy.