Jellyfish force French nuclear plant shutdown
The automatic shutdowns of four units "had no impact on the safety of the facilities, the safety of personnel, or the environment", EDF said on its website.
"These shutdowns are the result of the massive and unpredictable presence of jellyfish in the filter drums of the pumping stations," the Gravelines plant operator said.
The site was fully shut after the incident, with its two other units already offline for maintenance.
Teams were carrying out inspections to restart the production units "in complete safety", EDF said, adding the units were expected to restart on Thursday.
"There is no risk of a power shortage," the company added, saying other energy sources, including solar power, were operational.
Gravelines is Western Europe's largest nuclear power plant with six reactors, each with the capacity to produce 900 megawatts.
The site is due to open two next-generation reactors, each with a capacity of 1,600 megawatts, by 2040.
This is not the first time jellyfish have shut down a nuclear facility, though EDF said such incidents were "quite rare", adding the last impact on its operations was in the 1990s.
There have been cases of plants in other countries shutting down due to jellyfish invasions, notably a three-day closure in Sweden in 2013 and a 1999 incident in Japan that caused a major drop in output.
Experts say overfishing, plastic pollution and climate change have created conditions allowing jellyfish to thrive and reproduce.
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Perth Now
7 hours ago
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Nuclear power plant shuts down due to jellyfish invasion
One of Europe's biggest nuclear power stations was forced to shut down this week after an unexpected invasion - by jellyfish. The Gravelines nuclear power plant in northern France, located between Dunkirk and Calais, was fully shut down on Monday (12.08.25) after a 'massive and unpredictable' swarm of jellyfish clogged its sea water intake system. The plant, which relies on water from the North Sea to cool its reactors, saw four of its six units automatically shut down just before midnight when filter drums became overwhelmed. A fifth reactor followed hours later. Each unit at Gravelines produces 900 megawatts of power, making the disruption a significant hit to the region's energy supply. Fortunately, French energy giant EDF confirmed that the incident posed no threat to staff, the environment, or the facility itself. The jellyfish didn't damage the pumps, but they will need to be removed and the filters cleaned before the reactors can be restarted. This isn't the first time the Gravelines area has seen jellyfish swarms, with similar events washing up on nearby beaches in recent years. Experts say the increase is likely due to rising sea temperatures caused by global warming, as well as the spread of invasive species. Derek Wright, a marine biology consultant with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, explained: 'Jellyfish breed faster when water is warmer, and because areas like the North Sea are becoming warmer, the reproductive window is getting wider and wider. Jellyfish can also hitch rides on tanker ships, entering ballast tanks in one port and being pumped out halfway across the globe.' He added: 'Everyone talks about nuclear being clean, but we don't think about the unintended consequences of heat pollution.'
The Advertiser
a day ago
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Jellyfish-hit French nuclear site faces delayed restart
Four reactors at France's Gravelines nuclear plant will return to operation throughout the week, slightly later than initially planned, EDF data indicates after they were forced offline by a swarm of jellyfish in the cooling systems. The plant in northern France is one of the largest in the country and is cooled from a canal connected to the North Sea. Its six units produce 900 megawatts of power each, or 5.4 gigawatts in total. The first reactor, unit 6, is expected to restart on Tuesday, and then one reactor is expected to come back online each day until all four have returned to service on Friday, EDF data suggested. The original plan was for all four to restart on Tuesday. EDF did not give a reason for the delay, although France is in the midst of a heatwave that is creating challenges for many nuclear cooling systems. Its data showed the first reactor had still not restarted by midday on Tuesday. The whole Gravelines plant was temporarily halted on Monday after a "massive and unpredictable" swarm of jellyfish got into the cooling systems, EDF said. Four reactors were taken offline while the other two were already undergoing planned maintenance. They were English Barrel jellyfish, a native, non-stinging species that can grow up to 90 centimetres across, said citizen scientist Aäron Fabrice de Kisangani. The current would have pushed the jellyfish from the harbour and into the canal towards the nuclear plant, and then they would not have been able to escape the suction of the water coolant system, pulling them into the filters, Aaron said. Higher average sea temperatures this year could cause larger jellyfish blooms, he added, noting that jellyfish were staying longer in the North Sea due to mild autumns and winters. This is not the first time that jellyfish have disrupted nuclear plants. Scotland's Torness faced similar problems in 2011 while Gravelines itself was disrupted in 1993. Four reactors at France's Gravelines nuclear plant will return to operation throughout the week, slightly later than initially planned, EDF data indicates after they were forced offline by a swarm of jellyfish in the cooling systems. The plant in northern France is one of the largest in the country and is cooled from a canal connected to the North Sea. Its six units produce 900 megawatts of power each, or 5.4 gigawatts in total. The first reactor, unit 6, is expected to restart on Tuesday, and then one reactor is expected to come back online each day until all four have returned to service on Friday, EDF data suggested. The original plan was for all four to restart on Tuesday. EDF did not give a reason for the delay, although France is in the midst of a heatwave that is creating challenges for many nuclear cooling systems. Its data showed the first reactor had still not restarted by midday on Tuesday. The whole Gravelines plant was temporarily halted on Monday after a "massive and unpredictable" swarm of jellyfish got into the cooling systems, EDF said. Four reactors were taken offline while the other two were already undergoing planned maintenance. They were English Barrel jellyfish, a native, non-stinging species that can grow up to 90 centimetres across, said citizen scientist Aäron Fabrice de Kisangani. The current would have pushed the jellyfish from the harbour and into the canal towards the nuclear plant, and then they would not have been able to escape the suction of the water coolant system, pulling them into the filters, Aaron said. Higher average sea temperatures this year could cause larger jellyfish blooms, he added, noting that jellyfish were staying longer in the North Sea due to mild autumns and winters. This is not the first time that jellyfish have disrupted nuclear plants. Scotland's Torness faced similar problems in 2011 while Gravelines itself was disrupted in 1993. Four reactors at France's Gravelines nuclear plant will return to operation throughout the week, slightly later than initially planned, EDF data indicates after they were forced offline by a swarm of jellyfish in the cooling systems. The plant in northern France is one of the largest in the country and is cooled from a canal connected to the North Sea. Its six units produce 900 megawatts of power each, or 5.4 gigawatts in total. The first reactor, unit 6, is expected to restart on Tuesday, and then one reactor is expected to come back online each day until all four have returned to service on Friday, EDF data suggested. The original plan was for all four to restart on Tuesday. EDF did not give a reason for the delay, although France is in the midst of a heatwave that is creating challenges for many nuclear cooling systems. Its data showed the first reactor had still not restarted by midday on Tuesday. The whole Gravelines plant was temporarily halted on Monday after a "massive and unpredictable" swarm of jellyfish got into the cooling systems, EDF said. Four reactors were taken offline while the other two were already undergoing planned maintenance. They were English Barrel jellyfish, a native, non-stinging species that can grow up to 90 centimetres across, said citizen scientist Aäron Fabrice de Kisangani. The current would have pushed the jellyfish from the harbour and into the canal towards the nuclear plant, and then they would not have been able to escape the suction of the water coolant system, pulling them into the filters, Aaron said. Higher average sea temperatures this year could cause larger jellyfish blooms, he added, noting that jellyfish were staying longer in the North Sea due to mild autumns and winters. This is not the first time that jellyfish have disrupted nuclear plants. Scotland's Torness faced similar problems in 2011 while Gravelines itself was disrupted in 1993. Four reactors at France's Gravelines nuclear plant will return to operation throughout the week, slightly later than initially planned, EDF data indicates after they were forced offline by a swarm of jellyfish in the cooling systems. The plant in northern France is one of the largest in the country and is cooled from a canal connected to the North Sea. Its six units produce 900 megawatts of power each, or 5.4 gigawatts in total. The first reactor, unit 6, is expected to restart on Tuesday, and then one reactor is expected to come back online each day until all four have returned to service on Friday, EDF data suggested. The original plan was for all four to restart on Tuesday. EDF did not give a reason for the delay, although France is in the midst of a heatwave that is creating challenges for many nuclear cooling systems. Its data showed the first reactor had still not restarted by midday on Tuesday. The whole Gravelines plant was temporarily halted on Monday after a "massive and unpredictable" swarm of jellyfish got into the cooling systems, EDF said. Four reactors were taken offline while the other two were already undergoing planned maintenance. They were English Barrel jellyfish, a native, non-stinging species that can grow up to 90 centimetres across, said citizen scientist Aäron Fabrice de Kisangani. The current would have pushed the jellyfish from the harbour and into the canal towards the nuclear plant, and then they would not have been able to escape the suction of the water coolant system, pulling them into the filters, Aaron said. Higher average sea temperatures this year could cause larger jellyfish blooms, he added, noting that jellyfish were staying longer in the North Sea due to mild autumns and winters. This is not the first time that jellyfish have disrupted nuclear plants. Scotland's Torness faced similar problems in 2011 while Gravelines itself was disrupted in 1993.
Perth Now
a day ago
- Perth Now
Jellyfish-hit French nuclear site faces delayed restart
Four reactors at France's Gravelines nuclear plant will return to operation throughout the week, slightly later than initially planned, EDF data indicates after they were forced offline by a swarm of jellyfish in the cooling systems. The plant in northern France is one of the largest in the country and is cooled from a canal connected to the North Sea. Its six units produce 900 megawatts of power each, or 5.4 gigawatts in total. The first reactor, unit 6, is expected to restart on Tuesday, and then one reactor is expected to come back online each day until all four have returned to service on Friday, EDF data suggested. The original plan was for all four to restart on Tuesday. EDF did not give a reason for the delay, although France is in the midst of a heatwave that is creating challenges for many nuclear cooling systems. Its data showed the first reactor had still not restarted by midday on Tuesday. The whole Gravelines plant was temporarily halted on Monday after a "massive and unpredictable" swarm of jellyfish got into the cooling systems, EDF said. Four reactors were taken offline while the other two were already undergoing planned maintenance. They were English Barrel jellyfish, a native, non-stinging species that can grow up to 90 centimetres across, said citizen scientist Aäron Fabrice de Kisangani. The current would have pushed the jellyfish from the harbour and into the canal towards the nuclear plant, and then they would not have been able to escape the suction of the water coolant system, pulling them into the filters, Aaron said. Higher average sea temperatures this year could cause larger jellyfish blooms, he added, noting that jellyfish were staying longer in the North Sea due to mild autumns and winters. This is not the first time that jellyfish have disrupted nuclear plants. Scotland's Torness faced similar problems in 2011 while Gravelines itself was disrupted in 1993.
