Green energy, produced and consumed locally. It’s the somewhat crazy family gamble of retired Serge Poisson and his engineer son Antoine. The two men decided to build their own hydroelectric power station in Vire, in Calvados. With their installation they hope to be able to provide hundreds of homes with clean energy. A local, sustainable and inspiring solution, as the energy crisis escalates worldwide.
They aren’t called Pisces for nothing. Serge, the father, and Antoine, the son, are both passionate about the river. Together they decided to invest in the river Vire (Calvados) to start a project there like no other: the construction of a hydroelectric power station, reports France 3†
Since December 2020, the retiree and the engineer son have joined forces to transform the site of a former industrial wasteland into a facility worthy of the name. Serge and Antoine Poisson have planned a mini-dam in the river to divert some of the water. This is then led to a pipe in the basement, which was also laid by them. The water thus recovered will end its course in the space in which the turbine is housed. “3,000 liters per second pass through this pipeline”confides Antoine Poisson: France 3†
Enough to provide 400 homes
After two years of work and 700,000 euros in investments, their power plant should be producing electricity from the summer of 2022. With water from Vire, the Poissons could supply 400 local households with electricity, father and son promise.
Find out more about the Poisson family project by watching the report from France 3 †
In France, there are thousands of small power plants built by individuals or SMEs, according to France 3† They would produce energy for 1.3 million households. An inspiring local solution, while the energy crisis forces us to rethink our methods of energy production and consumption.