France's Gravelines nuclear power station in the north of the country has partially shut down its reactors due to a massive influx of jellyfish. This was reported by infohub.kz.
According to France's Électricité de France (EDF), two of the station's six units were shut down on Wednesday and Thursday because of jellyfish in the seawater filtration system used for cooling. A third unit has been shut down since 10 August due to the same issue, while a fourth has been closed for an inspection.
Gravelines, one of the country's biggest nuclear power stations located between Dunkirk and Calais in the Hauts-de-France region, was also closed last year because of jellyfish in its filters.
EDF said that units three, four and six were now shut. Unit three had only been reconnected to the grid on 18 August after the first wave of jellyfish earlier this month, while units one and two were also operating at reduced power as a preventative measure.
Each of Gravelines' six units produces 900 megawatts of power. The station is cooled from a canal connected to the North Sea. Several species of jellyfish are native and can be seen around the coast when the waters are warm. Experts say hot weather increases plankton levels at the water's surface, drawing jellyfish up.
Measures have been implemented to try to prevent jellyfish infiltration, including a partnership with fishermen who capture and release them further offshore, according to French outlet Ici.
There have been similar issues at other nuclear stations, including at the Torness plant in Scotland in 2011 and Sweden's Oskarshamn plant in 2013, but such cases are rare.