European nuclear plants face shutdowns as river water levels drop amid heatwave
Record heatwaves have lowered river flows in Europe, prompting nuclear facilities in Hungary, Romania and France to consider or enact temporary shutdowns due to insufficient cooling water.
Extreme heat across Europe has driven river levels to historic lows, creating cooling challenges for several nuclear power plants. In Hungary, the two-gigawatt Paks plant, which supplies about half of the nation’s electricity, has been forced to reduce output because the Danube’s flow is too weak to adequately cool its reactors. > "The Hungarian government is now mobilising engineers to place roughly 145,000 cubic metres of rocks in the riverbed to slow the current and conserve upstream water," a government source said.
Romania’s state nuclear operator also faces a possible full shutdown of its last operating reactor. Earlier this month, the Romanian navy used explosives to alter the Danube’s course in an effort to increase water availability for cooling.
In France, a combination of drought and a jellyfish bloom has cut nuclear generation by about 20 percent, though the country’s diversified energy mix has mitigated the impact.
Officials in the affected countries are monitoring the situation as another heatwave is forecast, raising concerns about the reliability of nuclear power during prolonged periods of low water availability.