| Entracque | ||
|---|---|---|
| Comune | ||
| Comune di Entracque | ||
 | ||
| ||
  Entracque Location of Entracque in Italy | ||
| Coordinates: 44°15′N7°24′E / 44.250°N 7.400°E Coordinates: 44°15′N7°24′E / 44.250°N 7.400°E | ||
| Country | Italy | |
| Region | Piedmont | |
| Province | Cuneo (CN) | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor | Roberto Gosso | |
| Area [1] | ||
| • Total | 159.9 km2 (61.7 sq mi) | |
| Elevation [2] | 894 m (2,933 ft) | |
| Highest elevation | 3,297 m (10,817 ft) | |
| Lowest elevation | 792 m (2,598 ft) | |
| Population (31 July 2010) [1] | ||
| • Total | 857 | |
| • Density | 5.4/km2 (14/sq mi) | |
| Demonym(s) | Entracquesi | |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
| Postal code | 12010 | |
| Dialing code | 0171 | |
| Website | Official website | |
Entracque is a small town in the Valle Gesso of the Maritime Alps of north-west Italy, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) southwest of Cuneo and close to the French border. It is the principal settlement and capoluogo of the comune or municipality of the same name (population 855) in the Piedmontese Province of Cuneo.
Valle Gesso is a valley in the Maritime Alps, located in the Italian province of Cuneo and crossed by the Gesso torrent.
The Maritime Alps are a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps. They form the border between the French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and the Italian regions of Piedmont and Liguria. They are the southernmost part of the Alps.
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe. Located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia and the enclaved microstates San Marino and Vatican City. Italy covers an area of 301,340 km2 (116,350 sq mi) and has a largely temperate seasonal and Mediterranean climate. With around 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth-most populous EU member state and the most populous country in Southern Europe.
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At the time of the 2001 census over 90 percent of the then 848 inhabitants of the comune were found in Entracque itself. The remaining 68 were dispersed among 11 hamlets, none of which had more than 13 inhabitants, or lived in isolated dwellings. [2]
Entracque borders the following municipalities: Belvédère (France), La Brigue (France), Limone Piemonte, Roaschia, Saint-Martin-Vésubie (France), Valdieri, and Vernante.
Belvédère is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. The village of Belvédère is an attractive village sitting above the river Vésubie at the entrance of the Gordolasque valley.
La Brigue is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France.
Limone Piemonte is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 100 kilometres (62 mi) south of Turin and about 20 kilometres (12 mi) south of Cuneo, on the border with France. As of September 2017, it had a population of 1,476 and an area of 71.3 square kilometres (27.5 sq mi).
The comune is the site of the Entracque Power Plant, one of the biggest hydroelectric power stations in Italy.
The Entracque Power Plant, also known as The Upper Gesso Plant, is a pumped-storage hydroelectric power station located in Valle Gesso just south of Entracque, Italy. The power station contains pump-generators for two co-located but hydraulically separated power schemes; the Chiotas-Piastra Plant and Rovina-Piastra Plant. Both plants use separate upper reservoirs but use Lago della Piastra as their common lower reservoir. To produce power, water is released from the upper reservoirs to the power station located at the lower reservoir. The pump-generators re-fill the reservoirs and the process repeats as needed. The Chiotas' upper reservoir, Lago del Chiotas, is located much higher in the valley and larger than Rovina's Lago della Rovina which affords it the ability to produce more electricity. The installed capacity of Chiotas is 1,184 megawatts (1,588,000 hp) with a hydraulic head of 1,048 m (3,438 ft) while Rovina has an installed capacity of 133.67 megawatts (179,250 hp) and a head of 598 metres (1,962 ft). Construction on the plant began in 1962 and operations started in 1982. It is owned and operated by Enel.
Italy is the world's 14th largest producer of hydroelectric power, with a total of 50,582 GWh produced in 2010. Electric energy from hydro accounted for about 18% of the national electricity production in 2010.
