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France cuts 6.4 GW of nuclear output as heatwave warms rivers

The curtailment was equivalent to about 14% of France’s power demand as of Monday morning, with several reactors fully offline or running at reduced rates.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Energy

OilPrice reported that France cut 6.4 gigawatts of nuclear power output on Monday as a prolonged heatwave raised river temperatures, limiting the cooling water available for reactors.

According to data cited by Reuters and attributed to EDF and grid operator RTE, as many as eight reactors were forced to curtail generation. The 6.4 GW reduction matched about 14% of France’s overall power demand as of Monday morning.

The report said Golfech 2 and Bugey 3 were taken fully offline, while six other reactors were operating at reduced rates as of Monday morning. It also named Saint Alban 1 and 2, Bugey reactors 3 to 5, and Blayais reactors 1 and 3 among those affected.

France’s nuclear fleet supplies roughly 70% of the country’s electricity mix, and RTE data cited in the report suggested France would still be a net power exporter, with more than 10 GW exported to neighboring countries on Monday even with the curbs. The same heatwave period, lasting at least a week and expected to continue at least until next week, also puts hydropower in focus.

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