Switzerland Shuts Down Nuclear Reactors Amid Extreme Heatwave

Swiss authorities have shut down a number of nuclear reactors at the Beznau nuclear power plant (PLTN), the oldest nuclear facility in Europe. The measure was taken after an extreme heatwave sweeping across Europe caused the temperature of the river water used for cooling the reactors to surge. Swiss energy company Axpo announced in a statement that the two nuclear reactors at the Beznau plant were temporarily shut down on Friday (26/6) local time. “The water temperature of the River Aare again reached 25 degrees Celsius yesterday and today. Adequate cooling conditions are not expected to be achieved,” Axpo stated on its website. As a result, the Beznau plant, located in northern Switzerland near the German border, “has temporarily shut down both reactors”. Axpo added that it “continues to monitor the temperature of the River Aare”. “As soon as the river temperature drops or adequate cooling conditions are anticipated, [Beznau] can plan to restart its reactors,” the company said, noting that restarting operations would require approval from the relevant authorities. The announcement came as an extreme heatwave affected 150 million people across Western Europe, with air temperatures exceeding 35 degrees Celsius. On Friday (26/6), Switzerland broke its June temperature record for the second consecutive day, recording 38.8 degrees Celsius in Basel, not far from Beznau. This new record came a day after temperatures of 38 degrees Celsius were recorded in the same location, surpassing records set over the past 80 years. French authorities had previously announced the shutdown of nuclear reactors in their territory as an environmental protection measure to avoid discharging large amounts of hot water into rivers whose temperatures had already risen. In Switzerland, nuclear power accounts for more than a third of the country’s electricity production. The nation has four ageing nuclear reactors, including the two at Beznau. Beznau’s Reactor 1 began operating in 1969 and Reactor 2 in 1971, making it one of the oldest nuclear power plants in the world.