As drought threatens France, EDF has warned that production at its Saint-Alban nuclear power plant (Isère) could be reduced on Monday and Tuesday due to the low flow of the Rhône.
The group released a statement on Sunday.
Nuclear reactors pump water into rivers or seas for cooling, and release heated water, with temperature limits to preserve aquatic biodiversity.
EDF sometimes reduces the power of its reactors – or even shuts them down – to preserve the temperature of the rivers, especially when the flow of the rivers drops, but these measures were usually taken during episodes of summer heat waves.
A rainfall deficit
France is currently at risk of a severe drought, after a particularly hot and dry spring and before a likely equally hot and dry summer, according to Météo-France.
In April, the latest summary of the situation in the Rhône-Mediterranean hydrological basin from the Eau France information service noted that “the rainfall deficit recorded in recent months has led to overall deficit flows over the entire basin”.
At the beginning of May, in the midst of an early heat wave, a similar power drop had been carried out for a few hours on a reactor at the Blayais power plant (Gironde), on the banks of the Garonne.
EDF relativizes the scope of these power reductions, emphasizing that in France, production losses due to high watercourse temperatures have represented 0.3% of annual nuclear production since 2000. But at a time when President Emmanuel Macron intends to relaunch the sector, these events have been pointed out by the opponents of nuclear power, like Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who saw in them the questioning of the argument according to which nuclear energy would be more regular than renewables.
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Nuclear plant
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