La Vallée des énergies (Energy Valley)

The Vallée des Energies is home to tomorrow's "energy mix!". It stretches from Gap to Pertuis and is mostly concentrated in the Val de Durance.

The valley is oriented towards the future and has a strong economic dynamics.

Located along the motorway, it directly serves the Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (French Atomic Energy and Alternative Energy Commission) in Cadarache, the site of the ITER nuclear fusion project and also the hydraulic dams on the Durance and towns in the territory from Manosque to Sisteron.

In addition to this, the Val de Durance offers firms in the Energy sector an economic and service network and a high-quality protected natural environment.

In the Vallée des énergies:
  • All the energy produced on the territory is from renewable sources (solar, hydraulic, fuelwood/biomass).
  • The SMART Alpes de Haute Provence project: a study of the specific issues facing rural territories in the field of smart networks capable of integrating user behaviour. Applications in fields such as energy storage, tourism, mobility or telemedicine could well emerge.
  • The EcoCampus Provence Formation in Sainte-Tulle offers sandwich training courses adapted to the professions of carbon-free energy. Specific teaching and technical equipment.
  • La Cité de l’énergie – Cadarache : A platform devoted to innovation in the field of alternative energy sources. Its ambition is to combine research and industries and become an indispensable cluster for the development of new energy sources (solar, Mediterranean habitat and biofuels).

Fusion

ITER: An international scientific programme

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Biomass

Thanks to its forest heritage the department has large sources of wood available for different uses and in particular, fuelwood.

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Hydraulique

Hydraulic energy in the department: the Durance-Verdon area has a production of 7 billion kWh per year, representing
10 % of French hydroelectric production.

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Solar energy

300 days of sunshine per year are an undeniable asset
for the development of the photovoltaic sector
in the department.dans le département.

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The players in the energy sector