Four reactors at France’s Gravelines nuclear power plant were shut down late Sunday due to a swarm of jellyfish in the cooling systems, operator EDF said on Monday, likely due to rising water temperatures because of global warming.
The plant in northern France is one of the largest in the country and cooled from a canal connected to the North Sea. Its six units produce 900 megawatts of power each, or 5.4 gigawatts in total.
The entire plant has now temporarily halted production as the other two units are offline for planned maintenance, EDF data showed.
The beaches around Gravelines, between the major cities of Dunkirk and Calais, have seen an increase in jellyfish in recent years due to warming waters and the introduction of invasive species.
“Jellyfish breed faster when water is warmer, and because areas like the North Sea are becoming warmer, the reproductive window is getting wider and wider,” said Derek Wright, marine biology consultant at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries.
