TRUE OR FAKE. Are nuclear power plants responsible for the drought?

After a very dry summer and winter, some policies are targeting the water consumption of nuclear power plants. The problem, raised by the environmentalist opposition, during a commission in the Assembly, was swept away by the rapporteur for the majority, Maud Oregon. The fleet’s 26 open-cycle reactors restore “100% of the water it takes”, she assured. According to Marine Tonnelier (EELV) however, “nearly a third of the water consumed in France is dedicated to nuclear power plants“.

In a closed cycle, part of the water withdrawn evaporates

To produce electricity, a power station heats water. Part of the water turns into steam, driving the turbine. The steam must then be cooled by water from rivers or the sea. There are two types of power plants: those that operate with an open cycle take large quantities of water and reject it completely, those with a closed cycle take less. , but part of it evaporates. Between 400 and 500 million m3 of water are thus consumed each year, ie half of the water consumption of the entire agricultural sector in a summer. The water consumption of nuclear power plants is therefore far from negligible.