There is almost no water in the rivers, the asphalt has softened, the fields have dried up - this is what Central and Southeastern Europe looks like due to the heat and drought. The record lack of precipitation in recent months and the summer heat waves have caused serious damage to the economy and infrastructure.
It has long been clear that the corn and sunflower harvests will be below average. The victim of the heat waves was also the movement on various roads - roads, rails and especially shipping. But the drought also caused a severe crisis in electricity production, which led to the suspension of work in some enterprises. The main reason - the low level of the Danube.
The most affected by the energy crisis are Hungary and Romania. Austria, Slovakia, Serbia and Bulgaria are also suffering from the low Danube level, but not as much as Romania and Hungary.
Hungary: the worst crisis in decades
No country in the region has been hit as hard by drought and heat as Hungary. It has not rained in most of the country for months. On August 5, 43 degrees were measured in Budapest, and outside the capital - 40. Due to the record low level of the Danube, the Paks nuclear power plant had to largely cease operations, as there is not enough water to cool it. It is currently operating at only 12 percent of its capacity. If the Danube level continues to fall, it will also have to completely stop electricity production.
The energy crisis has caused the Hungarian government to call on large consumers to save electricity. Car manufacturers and oil companies have already reduced their production.
The crisis, which is the worst in decades, is very dramatic because the country's energy mix is very unfavorable. "Paks" produces about half of Hungary's electricity. There are solar installations, but no storage for the energy they produce, in addition, there are too few modern gas plants, and almost no wind and hydropower. Therefore, electricity imports are currently required at high prices, and the government has announced the development of an energy development plan.
Romania: explosions for water supply
Things are similar, although not so dramatic, in Romania. There too, much reliance is placed on the Cerna Voda nuclear power plant for electricity production, and one of the two reactors had to be shut down there due to the low level of the Danube. At the same time, a rock was blasted not far from the power plant in order to increase the flow of water to the Danube, and tons of stones were poured into the riverbed for the same purpose.
Electricity production in Romania is relatively balanced - in addition to the nuclear power plant, the country also has hydro, gas, coal and wind power plants. Due to the high share of hydropower - about one fifth, the dependence on drought, as in the current period, is very serious. In Romania, car manufacturers such as "Dacia" and "Ford" have also had to reduce their production, and the government has announced that it will force some of the large enterprises to stop working if necessary.
Serbia: coal-fired power plants cannot cool down
Serbia is also suffering from drought and the low level of the Danube. There, 65 percent of electricity is generated in coal-fired power plants, 25 percent in hydropower plants. However, the "Iron Gates" hydroelectric power plant currently produces minimal energy, and the "Kostolac" coal-fired power plants, which rely on water from the Danube for cooling, had to reduce their production.
Slovakia and Austria are less affected
In Slovakia, 60 percent of electricity is generated by the Bohunice and Mokhovce nuclear power plants, 20 percent - by hydropower plants. But unlike Hungary and Romania, the Slovak nuclear power plants, located on smaller rivers, do not rely on the Danube for cooling, they work with cooling towers. Thanks to this, they need less water for cooling, respectively, the current drought does not affect them as much.
In Slovakia, the Gabčíkovo hydroelectric power plant is affected by the low level of the Danube, where only one of the eight turbines is currently operating. But the electricity production at this plant is only 12 percent lower than a year earlier.
Austria produces 60 percent of its electricity needs in hydroelectric power plants, but the situation there is not as dramatic as in Hungary. The explanation - some of the hydroelectric power plants are not run-of-the-river, but are storage and pumped-storage. The former depend directly on the amount of water in the river, while the latter use water stored in dams and reservoirs as needed, i.e. they are less vulnerable in hot periods like the current one. In addition, around 30 percent of Austria's electricity is produced from renewable sources.
Bulgaria: large-capacity storage
Bulgaria remains unaffected by the energy crisis. 40 percent of electricity is produced at the Kozloduy NPP, whose cooling system is designed to operate at lower water levels than the plants in Hungary and Romania. Therefore, there are no problems with the functioning of the plant so far - it is operating at almost full capacity. Such problems would arise if the level continues to fall.
In addition, Bulgaria does not rely mainly on run-of-river hydroelectric power plants on large rivers, as is the case in Romania and Serbia, for example. And more: in recent years, the country has significantly expanded the production of solar and wind energy.
The biggest difference compared to other countries is that Bulgaria has storage facilities with a capacity of 3.4 gigawatts and a storage capacity of 8.6 gigawatt-hours. The storage capacity corresponds to 16 percent of the total installed capacity in the country - an indicator that no other country in the world reaches.
In this way, Bulgaria can compensate for supply interruptions and consumption peaks without having to rely on expensive imports. At the same time, the country is becoming a regional market leader for new energy concepts and a center for stabilizing the electricity grid and ensuring more price stability in electricity trade.
Author: Keno Verzek