By Tania Martin
KALORAMA’S resident inventor, Paul Kouris, is making waves in his bid to create alternative green power to combat the world’s energy crisis.
He claims a generator using a whirlpool or vortex can produce enough energy to power an average house.
The invention known as the Kouris Centri Turbine Generator uses a whirlpool to harness water, similar to a hurricane.
Mr Kouris said the turbine operated using the coriolis force generated by the spin of the earth.
He claims the vortex can produce enough power to operate an average house.
Mr Kouris said an average house used 7.9 kilowatt hours of power a day, while his invention could produce nine kilowatts.
He said it worked on a similar basis to solar energy, with the power from the vortex being harnessed back to the electricity grid or battery packs.
Mr Kouris, a barrister by day and inventor by night, has been pondering the idea for more than 33 years.
The idea first came to him in 1975, following a lively debate with two friends.
They were discussing the world’s energy crisis when Mr Kouris had his lightbulb moment.
“I was living with a pig of a housemate at the time … there was a sink full of dishes and I was watching the water going down the drain,” he said.
“I thought wow, that’s it.”
Mr Kouris then started researching the rationale behind whirlpools and looked into the possibilities of producing power from a vortex.
At the time, Mr Kouris decided to finish law school while keeping his idea a secret.
It was several years later that he saw an advertisement in the mainstream media calling for ideas for alternative power sources.
It has taken Mr Kouris years to gain support for his idea, with the academic world sceptical.
But he has now gained State Government support for a pilot plant in Marysville.
The project has cost $80,000 to set up, with Sustainability Victoria pitching in $40,000.
The pilot is now operating near Stevensons Falls in Marysville.
Sustainability Victoria project manager John Osborne said funding the project enabled the government to verify if the invention was viable.
He said a number of tests on the vortex were now being undertaken.
