Hot stroke on power plants? The heat peak recorded on the west of France will shift east on Sunday and could weigh the next day on the production of electricity of the nuclear park, which depends on watercourses to cool, warned French electrician EDF on Saturday.
Météo-France had declared for Saturday the orange “heat wave” vigilance in 16 departments, mainly in the west of France. “Due to high temperature forecasts from (river) Rhône, production restrictions are likely to affect the EDF nuclear production park from Monday, June 23,” said EDF.
Consequences on rivers
The activity of nuclear power plants, which pump water from adjacent watercourses – or from the sea if necessary – for their cooling, before rejecting it warmer, is framed by heating and flowing thresholds to protect fauna and flora.
Various sporting or cultural events have been canceled due to this heat wave, such as a concert planned for the music festival in the west of France. Several cities also decided to leave parks and gardens open all night until the end of this early episode of heat to allow residents to cool off.
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It is the 50th heat wave identified by Météo-France since 1947 and one of the earliest.
