Twitter

Drinking water networks - France

Drinking water networks - France

Our French demonstration site tests how energy can be recovered using micro hydropower technology in the context of potable water.  The MHP unit is located where raw water enters a drinking water production plant in St Pair sur Mer in Normandy, harvesting energy in the existing network and redistributing it for use in the plant.

The turbine was installed in December 2019 and is now operational, generating nearly 7 kW/h of hydropower that re-supplies the plant to reduce its energy consumption. In addition to the inverse pump installation, SMPGA also developed a micro-turbine, which generates energy which can be used by local people via two USB connections at a bench nearby. Learn more and see drone and 360° image below. 

 

About the site

Location

The demonstration plant is located at SMPGA's drinking water facility in St Pair sur Mer in Normandy.  Click on the ThingLink image below to view a 360° image of the pilot plant.

Demonstration site 1 - Reverse Pump 

Installation of a commercial pump at the back of the UTEP inlet Assembly carried out by VEOLIA, the site operator, with technical expertise from Powerturbines (ES). www.powerturbines.eu

Key features
➢ Fixed raw water flow rate in operation at 340 m3 / h 
➢ Upstream / Downstream load delta: approximately 1bar - 9.3 kW / h hydraulic power 
➢ AC generator voltage: 268 V; AC generator Intensity: 14.8 A 
➢ Turbine speed: 890RPM 
➢ Production of energy injected into the factory: 6.1 kW / h

Results:
❖General hydraulic-electric efficiency of 72% 
❖3% of the average consumption of the plant recovered in green energy

 

 

Demonstration site 2 - Microturbine

Key features
➢ Bench connected with 2 USB sockets
➢ Installation of a microturbine that feeds a connected bench 
➢ The public can view the turbine itself via a window in the pavement
➢ Assembly carried out by STGS, the network operator (CEGA) with technical          expertise from Bill Mat in partnership with SAVE Innovations
➢ Peak flow 15 m3 / h - sector under expansion 

 

➢ Delta load Upstream / Downstream: less than 0.2 bar 
➢ Production of energy injected into a battery which supplies the USB ports

Results:
❖ Clean energy usable for public development, metrology 
❖ No constraint linked to the need for a pressure differential present on the network, only the flow is sufficient; the more important it is, the more potential there is 
❖ Point of communication to educate the general public about the hydroelectric potential of water network

 

 

Latest Progress

We are delighted to announce that our partners SMPGA received the “Prix de l’innovation de la gestion de l’eau dans les collectivités” – in English "Innovation award for public structure in Water Management" at this year's Carrefour L'Eau event.

Yves Cabaret, SMPGA's deputy director, gave a presentation featuring the sites testing REDAWN technology in France.  The presentation, "INNOVATION: Presentation of the challenges of hydroelectricity in pressurized water networks and the first promising examples that have proven themselves" is available to download here.

SMPGA also produced a film about their work for this award: watch now via YouTube.

This site is featured in the April 2020 edition of Hydroplus Magazine.  Read the article here (FR)

Find out more

To stay up to date with the latest on REDAWN, sign up to our newsletter here