On our outward trip to the UK (see my previous blogs,) we arrived at St Malo rather early. Having located the Ferryport and checked in the dogs, we looked for something to do to take up the idle hour and incidentally to find somewhere to run the dogs in advance of their overnight stay on the ferry Pont Aven. We spotted a sign to the `Barrage de la Rance` and thinking that this sounded a bit rural, we made our way in that direction. However, far from being just a reservoir, as most `barrages` are, this turned out to be the first and the largest of the World`s tidal barrage hydro-electricity schemes.
The principle of such a scheme is simple. You choose a tidal inlet with a good tidal range, and erect a dam across it. The water flowing in and out of the dam can be used to drive turbines and generate electricity. True, there will be a couple of slack periods, but these are at least predictable, not like a wind turbine which can be becalmed for long and random periods. In this instance, a further benefit is that the busy main road runs along the top of the dam. The scheme provides enough power for 250,000 households, was completed in 1967 and has since paid for itself.
I did find a deserted road at the side of the dam, so the dogs got their walk in the end! A very interesting impromptu `find`
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