The self-built Dommelstroom hydroelectric power station of father Jan and son Bram Taks from Sint-Michielgestel has been standing still for weeks due to drought. With their power station they generate electricity from the flowing water in the Dommel. Because there is no rain, no water is supplied and the power station does not provide electricity for 170 households.
On the outskirts of Sint-Michielsgestel, a huge hydroelectric power station has been running for five years. But the meter-long screw that normally rotates considerably through the flowing water is now stationary. Due to a shortage of rainwater in the Dommel, hardly any electricity can be generated. Hans Kitslaar, technology board member of the cooperative, is disappointed.
“This drought is really extreme. We hate that.”
“Our power station only runs when rainwater ends up in the Dommel. It hasn’t rained for weeks, so the power station is almost always shut down,” he says. “The first three months of this year were fine, but after that it went wrong. Every now and then the screw does rotate through sewage water, but that is almost nothing.”
In recent years, father and son also suffered from drought, but it has never been as bad as now. “The drought this year is really extreme. We hate that, but we can’t control the weather,” says Kitselaar. “Unfortunately, there are no other ways to get the water flowing.”
The electricity normally generated by the hydroelectric power station is enough for about 170 households in Sint-Michielsgestel. Now there are only ten. Nevertheless, the households are not without electricity, because the Dommelstroom also uses solar panels.
“Because it is not the first summer that the hydroelectric power station did not go well, we decided to generate extra power with solar panels,” explains the board member. “The sports hall in Sint-Michielsgestel has enough panels to generate a quarter of extra power. That way we can make up the shortfall.”
“We are happy with the rising energy prices.”
Although the hydroelectric power station does not supply much power now, the 500 cooperative members do not have to complain about the yields. “Energy prices have of course gone up considerably. We are happy with that, because it means we now get more per kilowatt of electricity that we generate. Although we had a good rainy summer last year, we now earn the same amount during this dry summer.”
But making money with the hydroelectric power station has never been Jan and Bram Taks’ main goal. “They wanted to show that there are more options for generating green electricity. Awareness is the most important. The fact that it generates green electricity and money is a bonus.”
