France is the largest producer and distributor of hydroelectricity in the European Union. We visited one of the dams on the Dordogne River - Le Barrage du Chastang.
Very peaceful and calm on the upper side of the dam, with a much higher water level.
The purpose of the dam is to retain the water and keep the water pressure high.
The purpose of the turbine is to turn the pressure of water into electricity.
The purpose of the water chutes is to relieve the water pressure so the dam doesn't get damaged if the water level gets too high.
The dam was built between 1947 - 1951, using 350,000 cubic meters of cement. The production machines were installed between 1949 - 1952, a very short time period considering the scale of this installation.
The dam began operations in October 1951 with a power of 290 MW.
To appreciate the scale of this dam, my little head can be seen on the upper edge, in front of the white building.
We are very familiar with "power lines" that carry electricity.
There's an informative museum at the foot of the dam. Extremely well presented with videos, posters and interactive kiosks. It helps us discover how the dam works, and how and where the electricity is used.
Press the Play button to watch a short video excerpt taken from the promo film. You must be in the original post of my blog to see this. If you're in the notification post, then simply click on the title "Dam" to go to the original.
Some of the really, really large tools used during the dam construction, some the size of a man. It took two men to handle the large wrench.
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So enjoy your blog Marguerite, with all of the details. The video was neat to watch, and your pictures a treat to view. C'est magnifique! :-)
ReplyDeleteYou're so kind! I do enjoy putting it together. It's a lot of work but it will be a good souvenir for us. As for the photos, we have 3 cameras and we've got problems with all of them, so it's a challenge! xoxo
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