Tuesday 7 October 2014

Power from cement

The old cement factory quarry in Lexos ceased operations nearly 20 years ago, depriving the area of  direct employment and many ancillary activities. Next week will see the start of a new enterprise which will bring some activity to the old quarry above the former factory site.
An "electricity farm" of photo-voltaic panels is to be constructed on various plateaux of the old excavations. With construction teams of about 40 workers there will be activity a-plenty and eventually a small maintenance and management staff on site.
The farm will be big enough to generate 8 megawatts of electricity, which will be fed into the grid and directed to a larger distribution centre near Cordes, by means of a 20000 volt "medium tension" line, to be entirely underground.
The company responsible has a 40 year lease from the commune, who own the quarry. No doubt the project will be seen as part of the Energy Minister's commitment to renewable energy sources and will make a modest, but welcome addition to the commune's finances.
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