The French Golfech power plant is shut down due to extreme heat. EDF announced preventive measures to protect the Garonne River from overheating.
The French state energy company électricité de France (EDF) announced on Monday that it had shut down its Golfech nuclear power plant in the southwest of the country for the wave of extreme heat. According to DPA, TASR informs about this.
This happened on Sunday evening as part of the prevention of overheating the adjacent Garonne River, from which the power plant uses water to cool the reactor core, EDF said.
The heat continues
Due to the hot weather, the water in the river was expected to heat up to 28 degrees Celsius on Monday. EDF did not indicate how long the power plant will be shut down. The wave of extreme heat reaching in places up to 40 degrees should persist in about the middle of this week.
The operation of another nuclear power plant, Blayais in western France, has been partially reduced due to the heat and the risk of overheating the Girona. Similar measures were also considered at the South French power plant Bugea, which draws water from the Rhôňa River.
According to EDF, the impact of measures on the production of electricity in the country should be negligible. Restriction or stopping of nuclear power plants during heat has led to an average reduction of annual electricity production by only 0.3 percent since 2000, the company said.
