Jellyfish force shutdown of three reactors at Frances Gravelines nuclear plant
French energy giant EDF shut down three reactors at its Gravelines nuclear power plant on Monday after a massive influx of jellyfish clogged the facility’s seawater cooling pumps, the company said in a statement. A fourth reactor’s output was cut by half, leaving only one of the plant’s six reactors operating at full capacity. A sixth reactor was already offline for scheduled maintenance.
“This situation has no impact on the safety of the facilities, the safety of personnel, or the environment,” EDF stated . The plant, located near Dunkirk on France’s northern coast, is the largest nuclear facility in Western Europe, with six reactors each producing 900 megawatts.
The shutdowns follow a similar incident exactly one year ago, when jellyfish forced the automatic closure of four reactors at the same plant . Local fishermen have been assisting in recent days to prevent jellyfish from entering the plant’s water intake systems, collecting 26 tons of the marine creatures on Monday alone .
France’s nuclear power production has faced repeated disruptions this year due to extreme weather. On Sunday, before the latest closures, the country recorded a 15.6% shortfall in nuclear output, according to Agence France-Presse calculations based on EDF data published since 2015 . Heatwaves and droughts have forced EDF to shut down or reduce output at multiple reactors in June and July to prevent environmental damage, as France’s 57 nuclear reactors rely on water from rivers or the sea for cooling.
The Gravelines plant, which supplies 60% of the electricity for northern France, has previously halted operations due to jellyfish in 1990 and 2025 . Similar jellyfish-related shutdowns have occurred at nuclear plants in the United States, Sweden, and Japan . Experts attribute the increasing frequency of jellyfish swarms to rising sea temperatures linked to global warming, overfishing, and plastic pollution .
Follow us for live European news
- 2
- 2
- 1
- 1
- 1
- 1
- 1
- 1
- 1
- 1
- 1
- 1
- 1
- 1
3 further sources not geolocated
Articles
Frances Power Prices Jump 22 as Heatwave Trims Nuclear Output
gdeltproject.org · about 2 hours ago
Jellyfish force shutdown of 3 reactors at French nuclear power plant A nuclear plant in northern France shut down three reactors after a swarm of jellyfish clogged pumps used to cool the units, energy group EDF said on Tuesday. Three reactors were taken offline on Monday and output at a fourth was cut by half, EDF said in a statement, leaving just one operating at full capacity. A sixth reactor was already offline for scheduled maintenance. This situation has no impact on the safety of the facilities, the safety of personnel, or the environment, EDF...
south china morning post · about 2 hours ago
Grote groep kwallen komt in inlaten Franse kerncentrale Grevelingen terecht: drie reactoren stilgelegd
de morgen · about 2 hours ago
Enormt kärnkraftverk stoppat Maneter korkar igen kylsystemet
expressen · about 2 hours ago
Des méduses contraignent à nouveau EDF à arrêter trois réacteurs de la centrale nucléaire de Gravelines Un an exactement après un incident similaire, lélectricien a dû stopper une partie des réacteurs de la plus grande installation nucléaire dEurope de lOuest après une nouvelle intrusion massive de créatures marines.
liberation · about 2 hours ago
Frankreich: Wegen Quallenplage: Drei Atomreaktoren abgeschaltet Quallenschwärme gerieten in die Wasserpumpen des Kernkraftwerks Gravelines. Das ist nicht das einzige Problem für den französischen Atomstrom.
faz · about 2 hours ago
Aug. 11 is quickly becoming jellyfish invasion day at the Gravelines nuclear power plant in northern France.
bluesky_Politico Europe · about 2 hours ago
V največji francoski jedrski elektrarni zaradi invazije meduz ustavili delovanje treh reaktorjev V francoski jedrski elektrarni Gravelines so morali izklopiti tri reaktorje. Vzrok pa niso sušne razmere, ampak jata meduz, ki je zamašila črpalke za hlajenje reaktorjev.
rtv slovenia · about 2 hours ago
Des méduses contraignent EDF à arrêter trois réacteurs dune centrale nucléaire dans le Nord de la France La présence de méduses sur le littoral du nord de la France est régulière et saisonnière. Mais le signalement de grands bancs dans ce secteur chaque été devient plus fréquent. ...
la libre · about 2 hours ago
Zwerm kwallen in Noordzee legt grootste kerncentrale van West-Europa stil Drie kernreactoren van de centrale in de Franse plaats Gravelines zijn sinds maandagavond stilgelegd door een naderende zwerm kwallen in de Noordzee, meldt elektriciteitsbedrijf Électricité de France. Het bedrijf wil hiermee voorkomen dat de dieren de koelsystemen inzwemmen.
nu.nl · about 2 hours ago
Meduzele au oprit trei reactoare ale unei centrale nucleare franceze. „Ne-am adaptat preventiv evoluției situației Afluenţa masivă de meduze în sistemele de răcire cu apă ale centralei nucleare Gravelines din nordul Franţei a forţat compania energetică publică franceză EDF să oprească sâmbătă trei din cele şase reactoare ale centralei ca măsură de siguranţă, relatează marţi agenţia EFE.
digi24 · about 2 hours ago
Quallenplage bringt Atom-Reaktoren in Frankreich zum Halt Drei Reaktoren wurden komplett heruntergefahren, einer arbeitet nur teilweise. Folgen für Sicherheit und Umwelt soll der Vorfall aber nicht haben
der standard · about 2 hours ago
Swarming jellyfish overrun French nuclear plant on same date two years in a row The jellyfish invasion is the latest in a series of climate change-driven incidents that have affected a record number of French nuclear reactors over the summer.
politico.eu · about 2 hours ago
Alforrecas quase paralisam maior central nuclear de França O surgimento de uma grande quantidade destes animais marinhos começou a obstruir as bombas utilizadas para arrefecimento, obrigando os responsáveis a ativar protocolos de segurança.
observador · about 2 hours ago
Van bizarrabb Paksnál: napra pontosan egy év után megint medúzák állítottak le egy francia atomerőművet 2025. augusztus 11. után megint zselés állagú szabotőrök tízezreit sodorta az Északi-tenger a Gravelines atomerőmű szivattyúi felé. Három nap küzdelem után az e célra kitalált halászhajók sem bírták tovább. Ez Nyugat-Európa legnagyobb atomerőműve.
444.hu · about 2 hours ago
Přemnožené medúzy v moři donutily jadernou elektrárnu ve Francii odstavit polovinu bloků Největší francouzská jaderná elektrárna Gravelines musela kvůli přemnoženým medúzám v moři odstavit polovinu ze svých šesti bloků. Oznámil to v úterý provozovatel zařízení společnost EDF. Produkci dalších bloků pak bylo nutné snížit na polovinu. Kvůli vysokým teplotám a suchu musela Francie odstavit či snížit výkon bloků i v dalších jaderných elektrárnách.
irozhlas.cz · about 2 hours ago
Nuklearkraft: Quallenplage bringt Atom-Reaktoren in Frankreich zum Halt Quallen sind nicht nur am Strand ungern gesehen. Auch bei einem Atomkraftwerk in Frankreich haben sie nun für Ärger gesorgt. Was ist passiert?
handelsblatt · about 2 hours ago
Maneter skaper store problemer for fransk atomanlegg Tre reaktorer er stengt ved et atomkraftverk nord i Frankrike fordi en stor mengde maneter blokkerer pumpene som brukes…
aftenposten · about 2 hours ago
Jellyfish force shutdown of three reactors at Frances Gravelines nuclear power plant Experts say overfishing, plastic pollution and warming seas due to climate change have created conditions allowing jellyfish to thrive and reproduce.
euronews · about 2 hours ago