Global warming's new wrinkle - it's too hot for nuclear reactors to operate

The fusion frenzy hits Wall Street as first company begins trading on Nasdaq

In today’s edition:

— France shuts down nuclear reactors as extreme heat threatens water program

— First fusion company to trade on Nasdaq soars in debut

— How the healthcare system is adapting to an increasingly warming world

— Wimbledon’s legendary green grass has an extreme heat problem

— Every day is a winter day in this Utah mountain spot, even in a national heatwave

Fire activity as of July 13. Fire Information for Resource Management System US/Canada.

The scorching summer in the U.S. and Europe and wildfires across both continents are well documented, but global warming flexed its power in a new way this week as France said it shut down a handful of nuclear reactors because of the extreme heat.

Authorities said three reactors had been shut down and seven more may suspend or reduce operations because of environmental restrictions around water discharges into nearby rivers. Because the water temperature of the rivers is already at extreme levels, it is unsafe to dump thousands of gallons of super-heated water used to cool the reactors into them.

The news is another unwelcome sign that climate change is impacting not only how we live, but how we plan to adapt to global warming itself. The hotter it gets, the more people use air conditioners, which increases the power loads on grids, and results in companies generating even more greenhouse gas emissions to keep the power running and keep people cool.

France said the reduction in nuclear energy was less than 10% of the output of its nuclear operations and could be made up, and that there is no safety risk from radiation. But the water warning is now there. Rest assured water advocates worried about data center usage of water to cool servers will be looking hard at this, particularly in the U.S. as the data center controversy heads for the midterm elections.

Nuclear energy is billed as a clean, unending means of creating energy to serve the world’s growing power needs. Many governments, including the Trump administration, are pushing hard to develop more ways to build nuclear capacity. But just when we think we have it all figured out, climate change strikes again in ways we couldn’t have imagined.

If you have ideas or suggestions for us, contact me directly at dcallaway@callawayclimateinsights.com.

---

Tuesday’s subscriber insights

General Fusion’s LM26 machine compresses plasmas on a commercially relevant scale. Photo: General Fusion.

Shine like the sun: the debut of fusion stocks