Romania blasts rocks to reroute cooling Danube water to nuclear reactor
The blast is meant to clear a channel for a temporary dam that would send more Danube water to the reactor, officials said.
- On Monday, Romania's navy detonated a rock outcrop in the drought-hit Danube to redirect vital cooling water toward its Cernavoda nuclear reactor, a controlled explosion aimed at sustaining the facility's operations.
- Record-Low water levels in the drought-hit Danube forced both Romania and Hungary to operate nuclear facilities at severely limited capacity, as heatwave conditions strained regional power grids and both nations rely on the river for essential cooling systems.
- Hungary's 2-gigawatt Paks plant, normally generating half the nation's electricity, ran at just over 10% capacity on Monday, with Prime Minister Peter Magyar stating, "Today, and maybe tomorrow the last turbine producing 240 megawatts can keep working."
- To ease grid pressure, Romanian industrial leaders including Renault-owned Dacia and Ford suspended production until August 19, while pharmaceutical company Richter committed to reducing electricity consumption by more than 50% over three weeks.
- Romanian Defence Minister Radu Miruta said, "Any day past Wednesday or Thursday that the nuclear power plant functions is a gain," as the water diversion operation is expected to conclude on Wednesday.
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105 Articles
Romania Uses Explosives to Divert the Danube and Save the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant From Drought
The Romanian army has taken unprecedented measures to increase water flows to the country's only nuclear power station, blowing up a rock formation in the Danube on 3 July 2026...
The operation of the Navy to divert the flow of water to the last reactor still operating. In Italy red boil in 25 cities up to ...
The Romanian army has blown up rocks to alter the course of the Danube. The water level is so low due to drought that two nuclear power plants along the river are not receiving enough cooling water.
The Army used 180 kilos of explosives, thus redirecting a greater flow rate to refrigerate the Cernavoda power station, which generates 20% of the country's electricity and is at risk of getting out of service.
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