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The heat and lack of water have forced EDF to reduce its electricity production, because nuclear power plants use water from rivers to cool their circuit. Beyond 30°C, they can no longer do so.
Will global warming affect our power plants? With rising temperatures, one of the nuclear reactors had to slow down, Monday, May 9, overnight. This is the production of the Blayais plant, located on the edge of the Gironde estuary. This decision by EDF is voluntary. To cool these production units, the plant pumps water from the Garonne and rejects it. But in recent days, the temperature of the river was too high. EDF cannot reject water above 30°C, a reactor had to be slowed down.
Such a decision is taken in the summer, but never in the middle of May. “It has an impact on biodiversity. Both obviously on the fish that live in the estuary and then on the proliferation of algae”, believes Patrick Mautin, of the Sepanso association for the defense of the environment. With global warming, a dozen French reactors could be affected.