Fromveur Passage Explained

The Fromveur Passage (; Breton: Strizh-mor ar Froñveur), 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 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 8kn.[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]

Notes and References

  1. A "sleeper" awakes: tidal current power . Roger H. Charlier . Roger Charlier . Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews . December 2003 . 7 . 6 . 515–529 . 10.1016/S1364-0321(03)00079-0.
  2. Web site: GDF Suez: Tapping into 80% of French tidal power potential . FC Business Intelligence . Tidal Today . 6 November 2013 . 2 February 2014 . Andrew Williams . 20 February 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140220153205/http://social.tidaltoday.com/technology-engineering/gdf-suez-tapping-80-french-tidal-power-potential . dead .