2023-09-06 07:50:34
EDF plans to lower the production of its nuclear reactors at the Bugey (Ain) and Saint-Alban (Isère) power stations, from Saturday, due to the high temperatures expected this week in France and the heating of the waters du Rhône, we learned on Wednesday from the electrician.
“Due to high temperature forecasts on the Rhône (river), production restrictions are likely to affect the Bugey nuclear production site” on Saturday September 9 and Sunday September 10, EDF said in a message published Tuesday on its website.
The same type of message was broadcast for the Saint-Alban (Isère) power plant “from (Saturday) September 9”.
EDF specifies that “for network constraints”, the Bugey site will have to “at least produce” 1,800 MW, and that of Saint-Alban, 300 MW.
“The power produced” by the two sites “may have to evolve according to network constraints”, added the group.
These nuclear power plants, both cooled by the waters of the Rhône, have already been the subject of similar messages in July and August.
In mid-July, the high temperatures had led to the shutdown of the Bugey 3 reactor, for cumulative reasons of “environmental constraints and low demand for electricity”, according to EDF.
The activity of the power stations, which pump water from adjacent rivers (or the sea, if applicable) to cool it before discharging it hotter into the environment, is governed by temperature rise and flow thresholds for these courses. of water not to be exceeded. These thresholds are specific to each plant and aim to protect the fauna and flora.
Given the exceptional heat expected this week, the temperatures of the Rhône water used to cool the reactors are likely to approach the authorized temperature rise limits.
For several years, in a context of global warming, droughts and heat waves have led EDF, sometimes as early as June, to adjust its production to comply with thermal discharge limits. EDF relativizes these restrictions for climatic reasons, indicating that they have reached 0.3% per year for the past twenty years.
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