[puppetmaster]

Yes, thermal power plants need a cold and hot end to operate, and they are designed to operate within the thermal "range" that its location can provide + some error. Now, this is not really a limitation, rather an engineering constraint. Thermal cycles can be stretched with multiple devices such a HRSG, in the case of combined cycles.

About powerplants in France shutting down because of cooling during the summer... I find it hard to believe this is a widespread issue, if an issue at all. Many of the existing nuclear reactors are reaching an age where massive maintenance schedules need to be executed. If the problem is extending the thermal range, that's relatively easy to fix.

Source: I used to build powerplants.

[RandomLensman]

I think the issue is more not killing everything in the river the warmer water is released back into, so the temperature differential becomes unworkable at certain intake temperatures.

[puppetmaster]

I agree with the intention. This has been part of the design constraints of a plant for at least 30 years... I reckon it is possible older plants didn't take steps to cool down the open water loop, but it is indeed relatively straight forward to tackle: cooling towers, open air reservoirs, and again heat exchangers...

[cma]

Was this due to reduced flows in the massive European drought?

[joak]

This summer: «High river temperatures to limit French nuclear power production»

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/high-river-temperatu...

[joak]

My point is that thermal power doesn't scale well. If you need 10x more electricity (growing needs plus electrification of all energy) thermal pollution of rivers becomes a big issue.