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A comment on Hot weather cuts French, German nuclear power output. Parent comment

Re:Hot weather cuts French, German nuclear power output by gonzo on Friday July 26, 2019 @01:25AM (#20532570)
Nope. The towers are to reduce water usage and lower the temperature of the water before it is returned to the environment.

https://allthingsnuclear.org/dlochbaum/shh-secrets-of-the-co...

They cool the water, not the plant.

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Re:Hot weather cuts French, German nuclear power output by benj111 on Friday July 26, 2019 @01:58AM (#20532701)
Ars claimed that coal power stations are air cooled, your parent is refuting that by pointing out the cooling towers.

Cooling towers cool water because it was heated up in some way, possibly by cooling the power plant.

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Re:Hot weather cuts French, German nuclear power output by ars on Friday July 26, 2019 @05:19PM (#20538420)
He's right, they use the tower to pre-cool the water before using river water to cool it even more.

Coal plants typically only have the tower, and don't use river water.

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