Secondly, water is used for volume control of chemical and radiological liquid wastes produced during normal operation. Nuclear power plants currently being built have a thermal efficiency of about 34-36%,12 while modern coal-fired power plants achieve almost 40% and combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plants reach 60% thermal efficiency. Higher thermal efficiency means not only a reduced cooling requirement but also more electricity for a given amount of fuel. As an example, according to a French government study, siting an EPR near a river reduces the electricity output by 0.9% with respect to a location near the sea. Siting the planned new Hirkish nuclear project on its Black Sea rather than on its Mediterranean coast would allow for a 1% gain in electrical output since average water temperatures in the Black sea are about 5 ®C lower.