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Hungary to sink barges and build a sill on Danube to keep nuclear plant running

2 pointsby 1mo agonbcnews.com
4 comments
1mo agoHN ↗

The Soviet-built plant, which uses water from the Danube to cool its four reactors, is currently operating at little more than 10% of its 2,000 megawatt capacity due to low water levels. It supplies Hungary with around a third of its electricity.

I'll guess that should be "It normally supplies Hungary with"?

Which seems like too many eggs in one basket, but the USSR was big on that kind of grandiosity. Consider https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aswan_High_Dam

1mo agoHN ↗

Total nuclear generation capacity in Hungary is 1.92GW as of this comment (per entsoe.eu capacity data). Current production is ~400MW sustained due to cooling limitations. Forward looking is hotter and drier in Europe. They're going to replace this nuclear generator with solar, wind, and batteries at some point. Assuming 1-2GW/month of solar deployment seen in Western Europe (Germany, Spain), they could replace this generation in less than six months with firm renewables and batteries, achieving parity with current nuclear capacity factor (~85%, as of this comment). A 450MW solar battery hybrid project turns up before the end of this year (Szihalom), and there are >2GW of renewables in the development pipeline.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paks_Nuclear_Power_Plant

https://app.electricitymaps.com/map/zone/HU/live/fifteen_min...

https://www.windindustry.com/news/world/article-7575-hungary...

https://www.pv-tech.org/ebrd-finance-renalfa-450mw-hungary-s...

https://ourworldindata.org/data-insights/solar-overtakes-gas...

1mo agoHN ↗

Additional citations:

Record heat is drying up Europe's major rivers, as these striking images show - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49283344 - August 2026

Bloomberg: Hungary Casts Doubt on Nuclear Plant Expansion After Danube Low Levels - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-13/hungary-c... - August 13th, 2026

Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar cast doubt on the Russian-led expansion of the country’s sole nuclear power plant after the record-low level of the Danube river almost led to a full shutdown of the existing reactors. The drought’s impact on water levels raises “questions” about the environmental license for two additional nuclear reactors, Magyar told reporters on Thursday at a press conference. He also pointed to the years-long delay in the Rosatom Corp.-led project as well as cost overruns. Hungary agreed with Russia in 2014 to expand the four aging nuclear reactors at Paks. The project’s price tag is now estimated at twice the original cost of €12.5 billion ($14.4 billion), Magyar said. At the same briefing, Magyar detailed emergency plans to raise the Danube’s level at Paks to ensure cooling water for the existing rectors. They include potentially sinking two barges close to the plant and the construction of a ground sill, which may take about 30 days. Currently, only one of four reactors at Paks is operational after the others have been shut down in recent weeks to ensure safety. Paks generates 40% of Hungary’s electricity output.

1mo agoHN ↗

Which seems like too many eggs in one basket

Reminds me of staying in a hotel in Belarus, with no hot water available due to work being done on the town's hot water pipes delivering hot water from the central hot water plant!