Paks Nuclear Power Plant Faces Challenges with Danube River Temperature Limits

The operational performance of the Paks II nuclear power plant cannot be directly extrapolated from the current conditions of the Paks I facility, according to nuclear energy expert Zsolt Hárfás. He noted that Paks II is designed with an auxiliary peak cooling system to manage its thermal load, a feature absent in the existing plant. This system is intended to cool a portion of the heated cooling water before it is returned to the Danube during critical summer periods, providing greater operational flexibility when the river's natural temperature is high.

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The operational status of the Paks nuclear power plant in 2026 cannot be automatically inferred from how Paks II will operate under similar conditions in the Danube.

Hárfás emphasized the importance of verifying whether Paks II's own technical systems can adhere to environmental regulations given specific water flow and temperature conditions. He stated that technical solutions must be developed to address these changing environmental factors. Rosatom, the company building the Paks II project, operates nuclear power plants in diverse climatic environments globally, utilizing seawater cooling, managing high humidity, or ensuring operation in extremely cold conditions.

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The Paks II project's implementer, Rosatom, builds and operates nuclear power plants in extremely diverse climatic environments worldwide.

The expert clarified that the current reduction in output at the Paks nuclear power plant is not a consequence of compromised reactor cooling safety. Instead, it is a measure taken to comply with the environmental temperature limits set for the Danube River. The core challenge moving forward, Hárfás suggested, is to determine how Hungary's electricity supply can be secured for the next 60 to 80 years while guaranteeing nuclear safety, supply security, and environmental protection.

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The current power reduction at the Paks nuclear power plant was not caused by the impossibility of safely cooling the reactors, but in order to comply with the environmental temperature limit of the Danube.