Fromveur Passage

Map of the Iroise Sea

The Fromveur Passage (French: Passage du Fromveur), sometimes called St. Vincent's Channel, is a strait that lies between the island of Ushant and Kéréon lighthouse on Men Tensel Rock, off the coast of the French province of Brittany. It forms part of the northern limit of the Iroise Sea.

The strait and Kéréon lighthouse, viewed from Ushant

The name Fromveur comes from the Breton words froud, meaning current, and meur meaning great, as the passage can exhibit strong tidal currents, often running at 4 m/s (8 kn).[1] These currents, the second strongest in France after those of the Raz Blanchard in Normandy, make the passage a promising location for tidal power installations. GDF Suez plans to install a 0.5-megawatt test tidal turbine in the passage in 2014.[2]

References

  1. Roger H. Charlier (December 2003). "A "sleeper" awakes: tidal current power". Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 7 (6): 515–529. doi:10.1016/S1364-0321(03)00079-0.
  2. Andrew Williams (6 November 2013). "GDF Suez: Tapping into 80% of French tidal power potential". Tidal Today. FC Business Intelligence. Retrieved 2 February 2014.

Coordinates: 48°26′15″N 5°02′28″W / 48.43757°N 5.04118°W / 48.43757; -5.04118


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