Romania Moves to Safeguard Nuclear Plant on Record Low Danube
(Bloomberg) -- Romania is taking additional emergency steps to maintain cooling water supplies for its Cernavoda nuclear power plant as water flows in the Danube River fall to their lowest level in recent history, the government said.
Authorities in the Black Sea country will continue emergency dredging near the power plant after its two nuclear reactors were shut down in late July and earlier in August, respectively, because of low water intake for cooling. They’ll also try to build a structure to redirect more water toward the canal that serves the Cernavoda plant.
The country’s emergency department is also preparing high-capacity pumps to maintain the water level required at the plant.
Decades-low water levels across Europe’s major rivers, including the Danube, have caused traffic disruptions and forced countries to shut down nuclear plants and reduce power output, boosting energy prices. Romania’s neighbor, Bulgaria, was the latest to announce plans for the first-ever reduction of output at its Kozloduy nuclear plant.
In Romania, Hidroelectrica, the country’s largest hydro-power producer, will release an additional average of 50 cubic meters of water per second from reservoirs on the Olt River for five days to help bolster the Danube’s flow. The extra water will also be used to generate electricity, the government said in the statement.
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