Friday, 12:30

Megadams

Taming nature and capturing its energy - it's a task made possible by hydro-electric barrages. Several dams have revolutionised barrage building and set engineering records. Serre Poncon's barrage from 1960 is more than 120 metres high, and its reservoir is the biggest artificial lake in France. To build it, two villages in the valley below had to be flooded. Romanche-Gavet's cutting-edge barrage was completed in 2020. It replaces no fewer than five barrages and is virtually invisible.