La Coche Power Station
Official nameCentrale de La Coche
CountryFrance
LocationAigueblanche, Savoie
Coordinates45°29′47″N 6°30′47″E / 45.49639°N 6.51306°E / 45.49639; 6.51306
StatusOperational
Opening date1975
Operator(s)EDF
Upper reservoir
CreatesLa Coche Reservoir
Total capacity2,100,000 m3 (1,700 acre⋅ft)
Lower reservoir
CreatesAigueblanche Reservoir
Total capacity500,000 m3 (410 acre⋅ft)
Power Station
Hydraulic head927 m (3,041 ft)
Pump-generators4 reversible 5-stage Francis pump-turbines[1]
Installed capacity320 MW

La Coche Power Station (French: Centrale de la Coche), also known as Sainte-Hélène la Coche, is a hydroelectric power plant in the commune of Aigueblanche (near Moûtiers), in Savoie, France. It is one of the six main pumped-storage hydropower plants in France.[2]

Design

This subterranean power station uses both pumped-storage and the gravity of natural stream flow to generate electricity through four reversible Francis turbine generator assemblies.[3] The water is first taken from La Coche Reservoir (Cuvette de la Coche), then passes through the power station, and finally drains into the Aigueblanche Dam on the Isère River.

The four turbines then permit the water to be pumped from the Aigueblanche Dam (also known as the Echelles d'Annibal Dam) back up to the reservoir at a 1,400-meter (4,600-foot) elevation.

La Coche Power Station was originally a prototype for the Grand'Maison Dam, which also functions as a pumped-storage system. La Coche's installed power capacity is 320 Megawatts. Its hydraulic head of 927 m (3,041 ft) gives a flow rate of 40 cubic meters per second (1,400 cubic feet per second) and an average annual output of 480 gigawatts.[4]

Water sources

La Coche Reservoir, which lies at an elevation of 1,401 m (4,596 ft), is supplied by several watercourses and feeds in its turn a 3 km-long (1.9-mile) penstock. The water then descends 500 m (1,600 ft) through this conduit to the power station's turbines.

There are eight water intake points that feed the reservoir, located on the following rivers: Bridan and Nant-Pérou,[5] Eau Rousse, Morel, Nant Brun and Encombres,[6] Belleville, and Allues.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Guilhot, Roger (1 December 2009) [March 1977]. "Présentation de l'aménagement hydroélectrique de La Coche" [Presentation of La Coche Hydroelectric Power Station] (PDF). La Houille Blanche (in French). Société Hydrotechnique de France. 63 (2–3): 135. doi:10.1051/lhb/1977005. ISSN 0018-6368. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  2. ↑ "Pumped-storage Power Pants (PSPP)". EDF. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Station de Transfert d'Energie par Pompage de La Coche - Sainte-Hélène" [La Coche - Sainte-Hélène Pumped-Storage Power Station]. Hydrelect (in French). 2 April 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  4. ↑ "Coche (la)". Hydroweb (in French). 28 September 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  5. ↑ Two tributaries of the Eau Rousse.
  6. ↑ Two tributaries of the Belleville.
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