It's end of June, and #NuclearPowerPlant|s in #France already have to decrease their power output because the water in the rivers is too warm to provide proper cooling.
#NuclearPower is not a sustainable, reliable source of energy unless we manage to stop the #climatecatastrophe first (which, realistically, we won't, even though we have to).
After #France, now #Switzerland had to reduce the production of #nuclearpower , too, because the rivers are too warm to provide sufficient cooling.
#nuclearenergy is not sustainable in a post-#climatecatastrophe world. We need to get our shit together and stop #climatechange .
Edit: Source: https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/europa/atomkraftwerke-hitze-kuehlung-abgeschaltet-100.html
Atomkraftwerke brauchen große Mengen Kühlwasser. Doch wegen der Hitze sind die Flüsse zu warm. Nach Frankreich reagiert nun auch die Schweiz und fährt einen Reaktor herunter. Und es drohen weitere Abschaltungen.
@oots No. The rivers are not too warm to provide sufficient cooling. The output is just reduced in order to avoid negative effects on the river ecosystems.
We can do that because we have enough reserves.
The idea that this is somehow a show-stopper for nuclear power is ridiculous.
German media are nowadays firmly in the grip of cognitive dissonance with regard to german energy decisions.
No, rivers are too warm to procide sufficient cooling without putting the river ecosystem at risk. Higher water temperature means the water can hold less oxygen, which is obviously bad for fish and other animals living in that river.
Here's a source from a US government agency: https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/temperature-and-water#overview
And what the heck does German media have to do with this? It was French and Swiss authorities / power companies who decided to reduce the power production. German media is just reporting on it.
Water temperature plays an important role in almost all USGS water science. Water temperature exerts a major influence on biological activity and growth, has an effect on water chemistry, can influence water quantity measurements, and governs the kinds of organisms that live in water bodies.
@oots Yes, exactly.
The reduction of power production is /normal/. French and Swiss media probably report it as a side note, if at all. It's not really news.
German media want to see a problem, so it gets a major headline. This triggers warm, cozy feelings in people suffering from cognitive dissonance that nuclear power is believed to be evil, but France and Switzerland have long been using it to reduce their CO₂ output to levels far below anything Germany will achieve anytime soon.
Yes, reduction of power production is perfectly normal, it happens all the time. Reduction of power production because rivers are too warm is (AFAIK) not normal, it's a relatively new phenomenon.
And I haven't seen this as a major headline in German media anywhere.
Also, if you have sources to back up your claim that #France and #Switzerland have reduced their CO2 emissions more than Germany because of their nuclear power plants, I'd be interested in that.
1. Yes, because of climate change, the instances of too warm rivers are increasing. But this can be mitigated by installing cooling towers.
2. The headline is linked above.
3. The Messmer plan (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_France) and the comparison of french and german emissions from power production should be general knowledge, no? Just a random search:
https://www.nowtricity.com/country/france/ (currently 53 g CO₂eq/kWh)
https://www.nowtricity.com/country/germany/ (currently 467 g CO₂eq/kWh)
And it's like that since the 1980s.
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