The impact of the recent heatwave in France on the country’s nuclear plants was limited, with around 5.5 GW of capacity temporarily unavailable in order to comply with regulatory constraints relating to river temperatures, the Paris-based nuclear group Sfen has said, quoting research by UK-based Aurora Energy Research.

Three commercial nuclear plants were affected by shutdowns due to rising river temperatures: Nogent, Bugey and Golfech.

But France remained an exporter of electricity throughout the heatwave at the end of June.