503 avenue du Dauphiné, 38530 Pontcharra, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
Moulin-Vieux
The Moulin-Vieux hydroelectric power station is in the town centre of Pontcharra-sur-Bréda. The water intake is in the Bréda gorges. A series of canals and penstocks carry the water to the Francis turbine, which develops a power of 300 kW.
- Intake altitude level: 270 NGF
- Restitution altitude level: 259 NGF
- Gross head: 11 m
- Maximum water flow taken: 4 m3/s
- Maximum gross power: 429 kW
- Maximum electrical power: 300 kW
- Average annual production: 1.9 GWh/year
A brief history of Moulin-Vieux power station
The first traces of the canal date back to 1332. It was the property of the lord of Avalon who then had the water rights for his mills and presses. The canal was then used for the benefit of the forges of the Marquis de Marcieu. Then, it passed successively into the hands of the Eynard family and that of Mr. Chaffard, a resident of Pontcharra.
At the end of the 18th century, the canal water was diverted to irrigate nearby crops.
In 1826, the canal was sold at auction, and it was in the second half of the 19th century that the paper industry settled in Moulin-Vieux.
In 1924-1925, a turbine was installed in Moulin-Vieux for the needs of the paper mill.
In 2004, the Forces Motrices du Gelon bought the hydroelectric installations from the Moulin-Vieux paper mills.
The Moulin-Vieux paper mills ceased their activities in 2006.
Clean energy
The Moulins-Vieux hydroelectric power plant produces an average of 1.9 GWh/year.
A thermal power plant would consume 422 tonnes of oil and release 1,267 tonnes of CO2 to achieve the same production.
A coal-fired power plant would release 1,583 tonnes of CO2 for the same energy produced.
This is the equivalent of the consumption of approximately 630 households, all needs combined.
The Breda, a mountain river
A typical mountain river. The Bréda has its source in the Sept-Laux massif (Belledonne Range). The high altitude of the upstream part of its catchment area makes it a snow-dominated regime.
After a 31 km course, it flows into the Isère River at Pontcharra-sur-Bréda.