Seaweed invasion shuts down major power plant

Santo Domingo.- Units 1 and 2 of the Itabo power plant, which supplies 238 megawatts to the National Grid (SENI), were shut down Tues. forced outings since dawn due to “a high invasion of Sargasso seaweed,” that have swamped Dominican coasts.

The management company said that the cooling water channels to the turbines are affected despite mitigation measures.

It said they are now in the process of cleaning the entire beach with support staff, divers’ crews and machinery.

“Unit 2 entered the system today at 10:30 in the morning, but there it’s still not the time to enter unit 1 due to the large amount of Sargasso,” the company said in a statement.

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