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The safety of the Paks nuclear power plant is not affected by the warming of Danube’s water caused by the summer heatwave in Hungary, MVM Paks Nuclear Power Plant Ltd. said on Tuesday.
In a statement, the company said that due to the warmer water in the Danube, the condensers of the nuclear power plant’s units are operating at a slightly lower efficiency, but this has no impact on safety, production, or technology. This phenomenon is a completely normal part of the operation, observed during all hot summer periods, they added.
As a consequence, the power plant’s output is currently a 20-40 MW per unit difference than in the winter period, but there has been no deliberate reduction in production.
The statement added that the Paks NPP also has a plan of measures to deal with the currently low water level of the Danube.
Measures are taken at specific water levels. At present, the first of the four stages is in effect, which does not require any further action other than technical preparations, does not affect the operation of the plant, and does not affect power generation, according to the statement.
The Paks NPP has four reactor units with a gross capacity of 500 MW each. In 2021, the plant produced about 16,000 gigawatt-hours of electricity, accounting for almost half of the gross electricity production in Hungary and 34 percent of the country’s gross electricity demand.
via MTI
Featured photo illustration by Tamás Sóki/MTI