on France 3, Jamy responds to the energy fears of the French

FRANCE 3 – WEDNESDAY JANUARY 4 AT 9:10 P.M. – MAGAZINE

Who remembers December 19, 1978? In the light of our troubled times, this date should nevertheless be historic, since it marks the day of the longest known blackout in France – four hours in Paris, without metro, train, red light or heating… but with monster traffic jams and, in Ussel (Corrèze), a surgeon who is finishing an operation with a flashlight!

To avoid the return of these inconveniences, “Le Monde de Jamy” bounces on the anxiety-provoking news of a possible blackout (cascading power cuts) this winter by offering a special edition devoted to the production and consumption of ‘electricity. At the presentation, Jamy Gourmaud is not there to amaze us – unlike “C’est pas sorcier”, a popular science program that made him known from 1993 to 2014 -, but to answer the down-to-earth questions of his congeners: will we have heating this winter? Can we call with our cell phones? Will France be covered with wind turbines? How can we reduce our bills?

In view of these specifications, Jamy is doing well. In a perky tone, he alternates some frankly funny passages, such as the calculation of the energy cost of a toast, with educational sequences based on animated diagrams explaining the methods of production of electricity nuclear, hydraulic, solar, wind…

Practical advice

Thus, for nuclear power, head for the tanks of the Civaux power plant, in Vienne, where two thirds of the reactors are cut, to evoke the “unprecedented setbacks” of the sector. Jamy then goes, in particular, to the Grand’Maison dam (Isère), the largest in Europe, to the Cestas photovoltaic power station (Gironde) and to a center of the French electricity transmission network, to meet the “dispatchers”.

Here again, the program alternates practical advice – a long sequence on energy savings and the insulation of homes – and information on consumption peaks by country or on the responsiveness of a nuclear power station compared to a hydraulic power station.

“And if this energy crisis was good? » The revival makes the transition with the need to rapidly develop renewable energies. From now on, the bias is clearly to convince, including the opponents, who also have the floor. To do this, Jamy goes around the most promising innovations: agrovoltaism, floating photovoltaics, offshore wind power or – more surprisingly – the reversible use of our batteries. “With a car, we are not going to change the world, but with 15 million electric vehicles by 2035…” Jamy almost succeeds in making us dream.