Hungary to Sink Two Barges to Save Paks Nuclear Plant

Hungarian authorities plan to sink two 80-meter-long barges in the Danube River to raise the water level near the Paks Nuclear Power Plant in the short term. Prime Minister Peter Magyar announced this on Friday.

Due to a historic drought and record-low river levels, the plant is operating at only about 25% of its capacity, as the Danube serves as a key source of cooling water for its reactors.

Sinking the boats is expected to immediately raise the water level by 20 centimeters. This temporary measure will allow two turbines to remain in operation while the government constructs a special submerged weir on the riverbed to regulate the flow. Construction of this transverse structure will take several weeks, but once completed, it should raise the river level by up to one meter.

A wave of extreme heat and drought is causing serious problems across Europe’s energy sector and shipping industry. Neighboring Romania was forced to shut down its last operational reactor on Thursday for the same reasons.

(Reuters, Max)