Romania shuts nuclear plant, Hungary dams dry Danube River

Romania shut down both reactors at its Cernavoda nuclear plant, its only nuclear facility, after record-low water levels on the Danube River left insufficient water to cool the reactors. The plant normally supplies about a fifth of Romania's electricity, and its shutdown has immediate effects on neighboring Moldova, which relies on Romanian power to cover its own shortages. Before the shutdown, authorities spent more than 2 million euros on efforts including dredging, sinking rock-filled barges, and blasting a boulder to try to divert the Danube's course and keep the plant running. The plant's first reactor went offline, followed two weeks later by the second reactor, which began operating in 2007; this is only the second time in 30 years the plant has been taken fully offline, the first being during a 2003 heatwave. Romanian authorities have urged households and businesses to practice responsible electricity consumption, particularly in the evenings when solar output drops but demand remains high. Separately, Hungary has been working to dam the Danube in an effort to keep its own Paks nuclear plant operating.