According to reports emanating from Paris, French electricity group EdF is worried about the impact the sustained heat is having on its nuclear power plants.
France derives around 80% of its power from nuclear generation, but the long and ongoing period of hot weather is impacting upon the sector’s efficiency. In view of this, EdF has made a request to the government to discharge water from reactors at higher than normal temperatures, according to Reuters.
EdF says that without the relaxation of environmental controls, the demand-supply balance of the French power network could be threatened.
Reuters adds that the temperature at which coolant water can be expelled from nuclear plants is normally tightly regulated to protect fish and marine fauna.