Solar collector project aiming to connect Moldovan youth from both sides of Dniester
Moldovan young people from both sides of the Dniester River will have the chance to participate in a project focused on creating solar collectors.
The initiative will not only teach them how to use energy efficiently but will also help bring the communities closer together, say the organizers. Moreover, participants will have the opportunity to install solar collectors in their own homes. However, the project can only move forward once funding is secured.
Vlad Ursu is one of the project’s implementers. With expertise in the field and a daily analysis of the market, he concluded that these solar collectors are the future. His first installation was made for a client who requested that it be built at a minimal cost. A few years ago, based on raw material prices, such a collector cost 7,000 lei. Furthermore, once the installation is running, it will consume no more than 1 kilowatt, and the daily costs will be just 2-3 lei.
"This was a challenge for us. We thought about how to create such a collector that would heat the air using solar energy, be eco-friendly, and keep costs minimal in both maintenance and construction," says Vlad Ursu, the inventor. "We obtain thermal energy from the sun, and with the help of a small fan, we create a small air circuit: we draw in cooler air from the room, preheat it in the collector, and return it to the house."
The organizers say they cannot keep the invention to themselves and want to share their experience of installing such collectors with people of modest means who need to heat their homes. Their initial thoughts were for their fellow countrymen from the left bank of the Dniester, who, since the beginning of the year, have been without gas and energy resources.
"What we personally felt is that there is a lot of social tension between the people on both sides of the Dniester. We really want to create a project that brings people and the two banks closer together and even puts them at a table where they can work together. We will show them how to install, assemble, maintain, and use solar energy," said entrepreneur Igor Hîncu.
According to the organizers, the project is in its early stages, with the final goal of producing 20 solar collectors. The installations will be assembled in the workshop of an entrepreneur from Floreni, Anenii Noi district, and delivered to the homes of the beneficiaries.
"We want to involve young people, teenagers, or adults who will be able to install them. They will likely be young people under 30 or anyone who applies or wishes to come and learn how to create and install such a solar collector at home," says Igor Hîncu. "We hope to secure funding for the first four collectors by the end of the month and launch the application process for young people."
The project will be carried out in collaboration with the NGO "EcoVisio" and the "Rural Renaissance" Association. At the same time, the project’s authors hope to obtain funding from the European Union.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
