The European Organization for Nuclear Research (better known as CERN) is considering the possibility of shutting down some of its particle accelerators during periods of maximum energy demand. They are also studying how they could stop using the Large Hadron Collider, the world's largest accelerator, if necessary.
This is due to the current energy crisis, triggered by Russia's threats to cut off gas supplies to Europe. While Spain will not be as severely affected as it is not as dependent on Russian gas, several other European countries will experience these cuts , and a harsh winter is expected.
The energy crisis will deal a serious blow to scientific advances at the LHC
CERN is located in a complex that straddles the Franco-Swiss border and is one of France's largest electricity consumers. At peak operation, it consumes nearly 200 megawatts of power, a third of the energy consumed by the city of Geneva. Currently, CERN, with its Large Hadron Collider (LHC), is probing the properties of the Higgs boson and searching for particles that could constitute dark matter.
But due to the European energy crisis, CERN is in talks with its electricity supplier to receive a day's notice that the center will need to reduce its electricity consumption. Along with shutting down other accelerators besides the LHC, they hope to reduce the center's electricity consumption by up to 25%. Shutting down the LHC would result in another 25% savings, but the collider relies on superconducting magnets cooled to -456 degrees Fahrenheit to bend the particle beam, which requires a significant amount of energy even when the beam is switched off. Turning off the cooling and allowing the magnets to heat up could delay experiments at the LHC for weeks . CERN officials are developing a plan to halt experiments . They will present it to representatives of the governments that fund the center at the end of the month.
RTE, the company that manages the French electricity grid, has said the country needs to reduce electricity consumption by 15% during peak hours this winter to avoid blackouts. Gas shortages mean less fuel for gas-fired power plants, which are typically relied upon to quickly ramp up capacity when the grid is under strain. This is why blackouts are expected in winter, when people will be using electric heaters more, and why Russia's gas cutoff is raising concerns about these restrictions.
Source: Wall Street Journal
