Jellyfish Swarms Force Emergency Shutdown of French Nuclear Reactors

Over 3 gigawatts of power production offline as cooling systems are compromised by massive invertebrate influx; heatwave conditions further strain the grid.

France’s power grid is facing a dual-threat crisis this week as massive jellyfish swarms have forced the shutdown of three reactors at a major nuclear facility, compounding existing instability caused by a record-breaking heatwave. Energy officials confirmed that a significant influx of jellyfish into the plant’s cooling system intakes necessitated an emergency stoppage to prevent damage to the facility’s infrastructure. The shutdown has resulted in a loss of approximately 3.2 gigawatts of capacity, further tightening the nation’s energy reserves. This marks the second consecutive year tha…