{"id":27900,"date":"2017-10-24T05:56:02","date_gmt":"2017-10-24T03:56:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=27900"},"modified":"2017-11-06T16:08:44","modified_gmt":"2017-11-06T15:08:44","slug":"green-france","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/green-france\/","title":{"rendered":"Green France"},"content":{"rendered":"

France has a long history of using alternative sources of fuel to generate electricity. After the global oil crisis of the early 1970’s France embarked on an ambitious program to ensure energy independence and today generates about 75% of its electricity from nuclear. While nuclear may not be the greenest source of energy, on our recent trip to Bretagne<\/strong> <\/a>we saw an example (or I should say, many, many examples!) of another way that France is seeking to maintain its energy-independence with cleaner, greener, renewable sources of energy.<\/p>\n

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Relatively flat, with lots of open space, and bordered by ocean, la Bretagne is an ideal region for an important source of renewable energy today, les \u00e9oliennes.<\/strong> It seemed like as soon as we crossed into Bretagne on our long drive from Paris they started to appear. No matter what direction we looked, the horizon was dotted with mechanical giants. Since 2010, la Bretagne<\/strong>\u00a0has had its own energy initiative <\/a> aimed at securing the supply of energy in<\/em> Bretagne that comes from Bretagne<\/em>. A major part of this initiative is increasing the production and use of renewable energy (les \u00e9nergies renouvelables<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re like most French learners, you learned that the word for \u2018mill<\/em>\u2019 (or \u2018windmill<\/em>\u2019) is \u2018moulin<\/strong>\u2019 (or \u2018moulin \u00e0 vent<\/strong>\u2019). That\u2019s so old school! In the old days when the emphasis was on the mill function, \u2018moulin<\/strong>\u2019 was the common term. In today\u2019s modern \u2018moulin<\/strong>\u2019 the emphasis is on the \u2018wind<\/em>\u2019 (\u2018le vent<\/strong>\u2019) and the word for a<\/em> wind turbine<\/em> is\u00a0une \u00e9olienne<\/strong> . For example: \u2018La France se met \u00e0 l\u2019\u00e9lectricit\u00e9 verte. Il y a des \u00e9oliennes partout en Bretagne.<\/strong>\u2019 (France is going green. There are wind turbines all over Brittany.<\/em>) And \u2018Alphonse Daudet a v\u00e9cu et \u00e9crit des contes dans un moulin \u00e0 vent en Provence.<\/strong>\u2019 (Alphonse Daudet lived and wrote in a windmill in Provence.<\/em>)<\/div>\n

La Bretagne is also home to the world’s oldest tidal power station. Situated at the estuary of the Rance river which empties out into the English channel between the Breton cities of Dinard and St. Malo la barrage de la Rance <\/strong>(the Rance dam) <\/em>has been generating hydroelectricity from the power of the tides since 1966. If you visit Brittany, you can\u00a0drive right over the barrage de la Rance<\/em> between St. Malo and Dinard!<\/p>\n

Image credits:
\nWind turbines – By Michael Bissonnette<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

France has a long history of using alternative sources of fuel to generate electricity. After the global oil crisis of the early 1970’s France embarked on an ambitious program to ensure energy independence and today generates about 75% of its electricity from nuclear. While nuclear may not be the greenest source of energy, on our…<\/p>\n

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