Hinkley Point C nuclear power station could suck in 182m fish each year

Posted: 17th March 2021

The new Hinkley Point C nuclear power station could kill 182m fish a year,
experts have warned in a report to the Welsh government. An independent
panel said the plant, currently under construction in Somerset, poses a
threat to marine life in the Severn Estuary by sucking millions of fish
into its cooling systems. The French energy company EDF, which is building
the plant, has applied to the Environment Agency for permission to drop
plans to include underwater speakers designed to deter fish from ending up
in the system. It argues that installing the “acoustic fish deterrent”
system is too risky for its workers and that other measures, including
technology slowing the water entering the system and returning any fish
that are sucked in, will suffice. A mesh is used to stop larger fish
entering the system, but smaller creatures can still be sucked in and
conservation groups argue that the larger fish can still be injured when
pressed against the mesh. EDF disputes figures suggesting half a million
fish a day would be lost to the nuclear plant, suggesting an estimate
instead of just 650,000 per year. But the Hinkley Point C Stakeholder
Reference Group, made up of experts in engineering, nuclear energy and the
environment, said that fish loss estimates cited by the company were too
low and urged the agency to reject the application.

Telegraph 16th March 2021

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/environment/2021/03/16/hinkley-point-c-nuclear-power-station-could-suck-182m-fish-year/