Hungary sinks barges to boost Danube level and keep Paks nuclear plant operating
Hungary is sinking two barges and building a stone sill on the Danube to raise water levels and prevent turbine shutdowns at the Paks nuclear power plant amid record-low river levels.
Hungary began sinking two 80-metre barges on Saturday to raise the Danube’s water level near the Paks nuclear power plant, Prime Minister Péter Magyar said on the social platform X. The move follows a drop of 122 centimetres below normal levels, which could force one of the plant’s two turbines to shut down if the river falls below 132 centimetres, according to the prime minister.
The government is also constructing an underwater dam, or sill, using about 150,000 cubic metres of stone to slow the current and further increase water depth. The Defence Ministry has deployed roughly 100 troops to work on the project around the clock.
Paks supplies more than a third of Hungary’s electricity, and the water-level measures aim to keep the plant fully operational during a summer of unusually low Danube levels that have affected nuclear facilities across Europe, including shutdowns in Romania and temporary reductions in France’s nuclear output.