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Nuclear power plants use a large quantity of water to cool their circuits. They most often reject a large part of it, but this is not always the case.
Are we consuming too much water to cool our reactors? In times of drought, the issue is sensitive. Nuclear power is one of the main consumers of water in France, but the figures are debatable. Do power plants represent 22% of total French consumption, as the Council of State says, or 31%, as the government wrote in 2022? If the calculation is complex, it is because only half of the park consumes water.
The cooling of power plants, the second water-consuming activity in France
In these so-called “closed cycle” plants, the water is pumped from the rivers, heated by passing through the engine room, then cooled in a tower at the end of the chain. Only 60% of the water is discharged into the natural environment. The rest evaporates. A very large quantity of water, compared to other uses. According to the Ministry of Ecological Transition, agriculture is the main water-consuming activity, with 45% of the total, ahead of the cooling of power plants (31%) and drinking water (21%). The ministry nevertheless refutes this figure today, believing that it does not reflect reality.
Among our sources:
Ministry of the Ecological Transition as well as a direct exchange with the advisers of the Ministry.
Rhône-Mediterranean-Corsica Water Agency
franceinfoTEN
Non-exhaustive list.
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