Four river turbines put in service in Lyon

/ Renewables / Wednesday, 26 December 2018 09:53

A fleet of four river turbines, located on the Rhone, was inaugurated in Caluire-et-Cuire, in the heart of the metropolis of Lyon.

With 320 kilowatts of installed power, it's a very small project - it can power 400 households - but it is a world first because the turbines currently tested have been implanted in isolation.

Unlike marine turbines, which are laid on the seabed, these tidal turbines are supported by barges, which facilitates their maintenance.

The machines were developed by the Grenoble company HydroQuest, which tests its technology for four years on the Loire in Orleans.

The project, which required an investment of 1.7 million euros, was launched by Voies navigables de France. The park will be operated for 18 years by Hydrowatt, a subsidiary of the renewable energy producer Unit-e, said its promoters.

These machines are particularly suitable for deep rivers with high flow. “The Rhône 80 years ago, before the construction of its dams, would have been a paradise for us,” said HydroQuest President Jean-François Simon.

But because of the multiple developments of waterways, “there is not much potential in France,” says Simon, who sees the future of these technologies in developing countries, because of their rapid deployment.

The four tidal turbines, with a unit capacity of 80 kilowatts, were built in Cherbourg by CMN worksites (30% shareholder of HydroQuest) and assembled at the Port of Lyon before being immersed.

HydroQuest also plans to deploy 39 of its machines as part of a project launched by hydroelectric producer CNR. It also plans to immerse its first marine turbine in April off Paimpol.

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