History of Villelongue

The Villelongue power plant was built in 1895. FerroPEM Pierrefitte plant has been running it ever since and has held the last concession to the hydroelectric operation since 2000, for the next 40 years. The current rights will then expire in 2040. The maximum flow is approximately 1.5m³/s during spring months. The power plant yearly production is around 30 GWh, which is almost entirely consumed in Pierrefitte plant itself.

Power plant facilities

• Group 1: 0.88m diameter Pelton Wheel coupled to a CEM type alternator, model MSDB 900 SM/6 with a power of 7.15 MVA
• Group 2: Smaller Pelton Wheel coupled to an Alsthom Alternator with a power of 2.8 MVA
• 540m elevation drop to get 54 bars in the Wheel inlet

Location

The Villelongue Power plant is situated in Villelongue municipality in the Pyrenees Mountain range, south west of France.

The plant is only 15 kilometers away from Lourdes and the closest access road is Highway A64 exit Tarbes West. The closest airport is the airport of Tarbes Lourdes Pyrenees, situated at a distance of approximately 35 km.