Published on Friday, July 28, 2006 by OneWorld.net
European Heat Wave Shows Limits of Nuclear Energy
by Julio Godoy
PARIS - The extreme hot summer in Europe is restricting nuclear
energy generation and showing up the limits of nuclear power, leading
environmental activists and scientists say.
The heat wave since mid-June has led authorities in France, Germany,
Spain and elsewhere in Europe to override their own environmental
norms on the maximum temperature of water drained from the plants'
cooling systems.
The French government announced July 24 that nuclear power plants
situated along rivers will be allowed to drain hot water into rivers
at higher temperature. The measure is intended "to guarantee the
provision of electricity for the country," according to an official
note.
France has 58 nuclear power plants, which produce almost 80 percent
of electricity generated in the country. Of these, 37 are situated
near rivers, and use them as outlet for water from their cooling
systems.
The drought accompanying the hot summer has reduced the volume of
water in the rivers, and might force some power plants to shut down.
Under normal circumstances, environment rules limit the maximum
temperature for waste water in order to protect river flora and
fauna.
"For many years now, French authorities have defended nuclear power
arguing that it is clean energy, good for the environment, and that
it will help combat global warming, for it does not emit greenhouse
gases," Stephane Lhomme, coordinator of the environmental network
Sortir du Nucleaire (Phase Out Nuclear Power) told IPS.
"Now, with global warming leading to extreme hot summers, we are
witnessing that it is the other way round," Lhomme said. "Global
warming is showing the limits of nuclear power plants, and nuclear
power is destroying our environment."
During the hot summer of 2003, French authorities had allowed nuclear
power plants to drain excessively hot water into rivers, leading to
considerable damage to flora and fauna, Lhomme said.
According to the minutes of the National Surveillance Committee on
water drained from reactors August 21 and September 3, 2003, "hot
water temperatures might have led to high concentrations of ammoniac,
which is potentially toxic for the rivers' fauna."
The minutes point to a European norm on the concentration of ammoniac
in rivers, which France did not respect.
Meanwhile France is importing some 2000 megawatts of power per day
from neighbouring countries to compensate for shortages in production
at nuclear power plants.
While the French authorities have overridden their own environmental
norms, in Germany energy providers have slowed down some nuclear
reactors to limit waste water temperature and to protect flora and
fauna.
Reactors Kruemmel, Brunsbuettel and Brokdorf situated along the river
Elbe which flows through Eastern and Northern Germany have all been
slowed down. So have traditional fossil fuel power plants situated
along the river Rhine.
The nuclear reactors Isar 1 near Munich, and Neckarwestheim near
Stuttgart have being authorised to drain hotter water into the nearby
rivers than normally allowed.
In Spain, the nuclear power plant at Santa Maria de Garona, one of
eight Spanish reactors, was shut down last weekend due to the high
temperatures recorded in the river Ebro, into which the reactor
drains the water used in its cooling system.
The power plant, Spain's oldest, provides 20 percent of the
electricity generated in the country.
German energy expert Hermann Scheer says the situation shows a need
for radical change in policy. "We must massively invest in renewable
energy sources, and get rid of nuclear power as soon as possible," he
told IPS.
Scheer is president of Eurosolar, the European association for
renewable energy resources, and winner of the 'Alternative Nobel
prize' for his commitment to the environment.
In France, nuclear scientist Hubert Reeves urged the government to
"invest massively" in renewable energy resources. "We are behind many
of our European partners such as Germany, Denmark and Spain in this
matter, and cannot wait until the energy crisis reaches its climax to
find an alternative to our present model," he told IPS.
A crisis, he said, "is round the corner." Fossil energy sources are
about to be exhausted, and "nuclear technology will not solve present
problems within a reasonable period of time. We should abandon
nuclear power and invest in alternative sources."
