The noise woke up residents of the region between Nantes and Saint-Nazaire, on the night of Sunday December 18 to Monday December 19. A very powerful noise that reacts on social networks, in particular residents of Malville. “I just heard a very loud noise like a blowing that stops and starts again […]. Do you know what it is ?”asks a user on Facebook. “It sounds like the sound of a giant hot air balloon”commented another resident of the area. “It woke me up because the noise was so intense. Three times in a row. In any case, it was very strange and casual”testifies a third.
Release the pressure from the coal plant
In fact, it was the Cordemais coal-fired power station. Relaunch at the beginning of October after four months of major maintenance work. Faced with the risk of a power shortage this winter, this plant is running at full speed. And sometimes, it’s a normal process for this type of industry, you have to take the pressure off. Hence this noise heard in the middle of the night within a radius of at least 15 km.
“It’s a bit like a pressure cooker, we open the valve and yes, it makes noise! In Cordemais we are used to it, but indeed, it resonates far enough!”, Explains the mayor of Cordemais, Daniel Guillé.
“There, the plant is back at full speed, all the more so with the relatively low temperatures of last week. And from time to time, it’s technical, you have to release the pressure when there is too much”continues Daniel Guillé who concedes it, “it’s very powerful”. “I understand that it can be worryinghe adds. There is nothing dangerous at allbut it’s hard to predict.”
The Cordemais coal-fired power plant which, in the middle of winter, provides up to 3% of electricity consumption French.