Heat wave forces nuclear power to drive down: what that means for us!

Heat wave forces nuclear power to drive down: what that means for us!

In Switzerland, the operators of nuclear power plants react to the continued heat wave, which influences the water temperatures of the rivers in the region. Yesterday afternoon, AXPO Block 1 of the Beznau nuclear power plant drove down, while Block 2 continues to operate with a reduced performance of 50 %. These measures were taken to ensure the protection of the Aare ecosystem and to comply with environmental law requirements. The aaret temperature remained below 25 ° C after the cooling water was initiated and mixing, which guarantees the security of the environment [oekonews.at] (https://www2.oekonews.at/hohe- Riverwasserempasser-Block-1-Des-AKW-BEZNAU-in-Schweiz-Huerhrene+2400+127762).

The throttling of the performance is part of Axpos continuous monitoring of the water temperatures. Current measures for throttling are retained for the time being to prevent excessive warming of the water that could damage flora and fauna in the hot summer months. This is in accordance with the orders of the Federal Office of Energy (BFE) that aim to maintain the ecological standards.

Influence of temperature fluctuations

The problem of high water temperatures affects not only nuclear power plants, but also steam turbine power plants as well as coal and gas and steam combination works. These systems must also be shut down at high temperatures or drought or at least reduced in performance. According to [grs.de] (https://www.grs.de/de/aktuelles/hah-am-wasser-bauten-bauten-zunigende- and-hitzeperioden-influence-on), ecological arguments are in the foreground when it comes to reducing performance in times of extreme weather conditions.

A central aspect is the flow cooling, in which cooling water is removed from water, cooled and then redirected. A higher cooling water temperature means that the negative pressure in the capacitor drops, which affects the efficiency of the energy conversion. The operators are forced to pay attention to the temperature conditions and take measures in order to adhere to the legally defined limit values ​​for the temperature in both the river and in the water.

safety precautions and radiation protection

Security in power plants is also secured by the integrity of the cooling systems. They are designed in such a way that they work within acceptable limits even with temperature increases. The Latin expression "predictability" plays a central role here, since longer heat periods are assessed than less risky if the temperature changes are slowly taking place. In response to extreme weather events, a throttling of the performance can be made to ensure that the cooling water requirement is covered, as stmuv.bayern.de emphasizes.

In addition to cooling, all processes, both the delivery of wastewater and the exhaust air emissions, must be strictly monitored to ensure that the environmental impact is minimized. The limit values ​​for radiation exposure are clearly defined and do not exceed the permissible values ​​in normal operation, which is ensured due to the strict safety precautions in nuclear power plants.