Everything is dizzying. The steep slopes of the mountains, the waterfalls which plunge down their sides, the 300 meter funicular which takes you to the EDF installations. Welcome to Takamaka, one of EDF's hydraulic power plants in Reunion. About thirty kilometers from the coastal town of Saint-Benoît, the site is barely visible, in an emerald green tropical jungle. Trees, ferns, exotic flowers, everything grows in abundance, benefiting from the heat and a unique hydrometry in the world. As it rains every day, 7 meters of water falls each year on this part of Bourbon Island, ten times more than in Paris.
The site is important, while Reunion is undergoing its energy transformation. Goodbye to gas and fuel oil to operate power plants, make way for renewable energies in their great diversity. The challenge is considerable: it is necessary to ensure, on site, the production of electricity for nearly 900,000 inhabitants and 35,000 businesses, without the possibility of importing electrons since Reunion is not connected to any production zone...
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