On Monday, the largest nuclear power plant in Western Europe, Gravelines, located in northern France, was completely shut down after a massive influx of jellyfish blocked the pumps used for reactor cooling. This was reported by Baltimore Chronicle, with reference to the energy company EDF.
According to EDF, the automatic shutdown of four units did not affect the safety of the facility, its personnel, or the environment. The cause was the “mass and unpredictable appearance of jellyfish in the filtration drums of the pumping stations.” Three units were automatically shut down late on Sunday, and another early on Monday morning. Two other units were already undergoing planned maintenance, so after the incident, the entire station’s operation was halted.
The station’s personnel have been mobilized, and diagnostic work is currently underway to safely resume electricity production, EDF reports. The Gravelines plant consists of six reactors, each with a capacity of 900 megawatts. It is planned that by 2040, two new EPR reactors with a capacity of 1600 megawatts each will be commissioned at the site.
Earlier we wrote that the U.S. plans to accelerate the construction of a nuclear reactor on the Moon.