Hot weather across Europe is increasing demand for nuclear power plant shutdowns, with the weather expected to worsen in the coming decades and there are few solutions to mitigate.
New research published in the journal Energy Economics shows that nuclear power outages are related to weather, mainly due to high water temperatures for cooling down, in the period from 2010 to 2019, which has increased by 3 times compared to the period from 1990 to 2009.
Due to climate change, the intensity and duration of the heat waves are expected to continue to increase.
"Summer heat waves are rising rapidly, up 0.85 days per year since 2010. This fund signals the growing risk of cooling water for French nuclear power plants," said Jess Hicks, a weather analyst at BloombergNEF.
Europe is making efforts to build renewable energy capacity, but power sources such as nuclear power still play an important role in maintaining a stable power flow when there is little sunshine or quiet wind.
The role of nuclear power is even more important during hot summer days, as demand for electricity increases dramatically as people turn on air conditioners.
Another study in the Energy Journal in April this year looked at two nuclear reactors operated by Electricite de France: Chooz and Golfech. These two reactors are cooled by river water.
The study concluded that climate change will increase water temperatures while also reducing flow.
If both of these nuclear power plants remain operational by 2050, the chance of power outages in Chooz will double while in Golfech will increase by 10 times. In the worst years, about 14% of Chooz's electricity output will be cut.
Analysts point out that when water temperatures rise and flows are low, nuclear power plants have few options.
A closed- loop cooling system, less dependent on the outside environment, is one option.
However, research by Energy Economics shows that renovating these systems costs about $500 million per nuclear power plant.
Other options include loosening environmental limits on river temperatures, allowing nuclear reactors to operate longer during hot periods.
Similar exemptions have been previously implemented, such as in 2022, when the French nuclear watchdog ASN temporarily allowed five nuclear power plants to release warmer water into rivers as the country faced an energy crisis.
Electricite de France is also studying other methods to reduce water consumption at nuclear power plants, such as collecting cooling steam released by these facilities.
