L'Argentière – Civil engineering refurbishment of the Gyronde gallery (05)

Project owner EDF Petite-Hydro - GEH AZUR-ECRINS

Type of project Civil engineering refurbishment

Refurbishment of the civil engineering works of the Gyronde gallery.

Main technical features

The L’Argentière power plant is supplied with water by two intakes. One is located on the Durance, the other on the GYRONDE. The two galleries originating from these intakes converge 1.5 km upstream of the power plant to form a common section, before supplying two horizontal double Francis turbines through two penstocks, each with a capacity of 18.25 MW. The cross-sectional area of the Gyronde gallery is 6.50 m² (approximately 3.00 m high and 2.70 m wide).

Specific constraints

As the gallery is located in an area at risk of radon exposure, measurements were taken throughout the project to ensure that operators were not exposed to doses exceeding the regulatory thresholds.

Hydraulic tunnel