Hungary's Solar Farms Step Up as Drought Cripples Paks Nuclear Plant

Hungary's power grid is weathering a severe crisis at its only nuclear plant, thanks to an unexpected ally: record-breaking solar generation. Output from the Paks nuclear facility, which typically supplies nearly half of the country's electricity, has plunged by more than 80% this month after water levels in the Danube River dropped to historic lows, depriving the plant of its primary cooling source.

Data shows Paks has been generating around 312 megawatt-hours per hour (MWh/h) in August, a steep fall from its average of roughly 1,700 MWh/h during the first seven months of the year. The drop was triggered by Danube water levels falling below 30 centimeters near Budapest, forcing emergency engineering work to prevent a complete shutdown. As of mid-week, only two turbines remained operational.

This dramatic loss of baseload power would normally force Hungary to rely on massive electricity imports and ramp up fossil-fuel plants. Instead, the country's solar farms have stepped into the breach. August solar output has averaged about 1,418 MWh/h, a nearly 20% increase year-on-year and well above the 925 MWh/h average for the first seven months of 2024.

At times this month, solar has accounted for more than 55% of Hungary's generation mix—a record share—while nuclear's contribution has fallen from its usual 50% to under 10%. The result is that total power output is down less than 3% from average, averting blackouts and limiting the need for imports or additional fossil-fuel burning.

Hungary is not alone in facing this challenge. Bulgaria's Kozloduy plant and several French reactors have also cut capacity this year due to cooling-water shortages. But Hungary's experience offers a clear demonstration that renewable energy can serve as a critical buffer for grid stability when conventional generators fail, a lesson that may prove valuable for other European power systems facing similar drought-related pressures.