Romania diverts Danube water in race to save nuclear reactors from shutdown
- Romania raced on Thursday to sink four barges laden with rock into the Danube River in an attempt to redirect water downstream toward a nuclear power plant, to buy more time before its second reactor is likely forced offline due to record-low water levels.
- Extreme heatwaves and low rainfall across the region have left the Danube at record lows over the past week, forcing the shutdown of a reactor at Romania’s Cernavoda nuclear plant last week.
- The state-owned nuclear power plant accounts for about 20% of the country’s electricity generation when fully operational and uses river water to cool it
Confirmed
- Romania raced on Thursday to sink four barges laden with rock into the Danube River in an attempt to redirect water downstream toward a nuclear power plant, to buy more time before its second reactor is likely forced offline due to record-low water levels.
- Extreme heatwaves and low rainfall across the region have left the Danube at record lows over the past week, forcing the shutdown of a reactor at Romania’s Cernavoda nuclear plant last week.
- The state-owned nuclear power plant accounts for about 20% of the country’s electricity generation when fully operational and uses river water to cool it
Sources: The Independent