en.Wedoany.com Reported - The heatwave is forcing the Martigues gas power plant in southern France to face the risk of shutdown, with record-high temperatures in the Mediterranean leading to a shortage of cooling water, further exacerbating the country's already strained power supply situation.
Since early summer, Europe has been hit by consecutive extreme heatwaves, causing water shortages, forest fires, and other issues. French utility EDF has issued a production curtailment notice for the 930 MW Martigues plant, marking the first time this summer that a gas power plant in France faces a shutdown threat due to high temperatures.
EDF told Reuters that although the cooling water temperature has exceeded the usual limit of 30 degrees Celsius, the plant has received an exemption allowing it to operate until September 15. However, the new upper limit of 32 degrees Celsius is also at risk of being breached.
Nuclear Power Pressure Intensifies
A shutdown of this plant would put additional strain on the power system. On Thursday evening, nuclear capacity unavailable due to rising river water temperatures had already reached approximately 4.9 GW; another 2.5 GW was offline due to low water levels.
Nuclear power is the backbone of France's electricity supply, accounting for about 70% of the national power generation. The currently offline nuclear capacity represents roughly 14% of France's total installed capacity.
Thibault Laconde, founder of climate data analytics firm Callendar, told Reuters that France has already experienced two rounds of climate-related unavailability, unprecedented in both intensity and timing, and affecting reactors not typically subject to such conditions.
Expected Temperature Drop, Drought Persists
On Friday, more nuclear reactors may reduce output due to ongoing high temperatures. As temperatures begin to ease, the Bugey 3 reactor is expected to resume operations on Friday evening. Meanwhile, the Golfech 2 nuclear reactor in southern France has been fully shut down due to the heatwave and is expected to remain offline until July 25.
Additionally, about 2.5 GW of capacity at the Chooz plant remains offline due to low water levels in the Meuse River, which is subject to a water-sharing agreement with Belgium.
Meteo-France stated that the heatwave will begin to subside in the coming days, with high temperatures expected to be mainly confined to the southeastern region by the weekend. However, the agency warned that drought conditions are intensifying due to a lack of heavy rainfall and abnormally high temperatures since late May.
