Latest news with #energygroup
The Independent
7 days ago
- Science
- The Independent
Swarm of jellyfish shuts down nuclear power station
A nuclear power station in Gravelines, northern France, temporarily shut down after a large swarm of jellyfish infiltrated its cooling system. Four reactors automatically shut off on Sunday, with the entire plant remaining offline by Tuesday morning due to the jellyfish and planned maintenance. Energy group EDF confirmed the incident did not compromise the safety of the facilities, staff, or the environment, as the jellyfish were found in a non-nuclear part of the site. The plant is expected to gradually come back online throughout the week, with the first reactor restarting on Tuesday. Scientists warn that such incidents may become more frequent due to rising global temperatures, which lead to warmer waters and increased jellyfish breeding, as well as the introduction of invasive species.
Russia Today
12-08-2025
- General
- Russia Today
Jellyfish force French nuclear plant shutdown
A 'massive' swarm of jellyfish prompted the Gravelines nuclear power plant to automatically switch off, the energy group EDF that operates the facility said on Monday. The swarm of marine creatures clogged the filters of the cooling systems of the plant, the operator said. The 'massive and unpredictable presence of jellyfish' prompted four power units of the facility to automatically shut off. The incident put the entire facility offline, as two other units were already inoperable due to maintenance. The incident, which occurred late on Sunday, had 'no impact on the safety of the facilities, the safety of personnel, or the environment,' the EDF said, adding that the gelatinous creatures made it only to 'the non-nuclear part of the facilities.' 'The plant teams are mobilized and are currently carrying out the necessary diagnostics and interventions to be able to restart the production units safely,' the energy group added. The nuclear site draws cooling water from a channel linking it to the North Sea, which is home to several jellyfish species. The plant operator did not elaborate on the exact type of jellyfish involved in the incident. Jellyfish have a long history of disrupting the the work of coastal power plants, repeatedly getting sucked into cooling systems or clogging up intake pipes of nuclear and conventional energy facilities worldwide. The Gravelines power plant is one of the largest nuclear sites in France, the country that gets 70% of its electricity from nuclear installations. Six units of the facility have a peak production of 900 megawatts each, making the station alone capable of powering an estimated 5 million homes.
News.com.au
12-08-2025
- Science
- News.com.au
Jellyfish force French nuclear plant shutdown
A nuclear plant in northern France was temporarily shut down on Monday after a swarm of jellyfish clogged pumps used to cool the reactors, energy group EDF said. 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. lg-ekf/jh/phz
Yahoo
12-08-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Jellyfish force French nuclear plant shutdown
A nuclear plant in northern France was temporarily shut down on Monday after a swarm of jellyfish clogged pumps used to cool the reactors, energy group EDF said. 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. lg-ekf/jh/phz
BBC News
11-08-2025
- Science
- BBC News
Jellyfish force French nuclear plant to shut down
A French nuclear plant temporarily shut down on Monday due to a "massive and unpredictable presence of jellyfish" in its filters, its operator swarm clogged up the cooling system and caused four units at the Gravelines nuclear power plant to automatically switch off, energy group EDF site in northern France was shut after the incident, with its remaining two units already down for said there had been "no impact on the safety of the facilities, the safety of personnel, or the environment". It added that the fish were found "in the non-nuclear part of the facilities". "The plant teams are mobilised and are currently carrying out the necessary diagnostics and interventions to be able to restart the production units safely," EDF said in a between Dunkirk and Calais, Gravelines is one of France's largest power plants, with six units which each produce 900 megawatts of is cooled from a canal connected to the North Sea, where several species of jellyfish are native and can be seen around the coast when the waters are warm.
