This article analyses the acceptance or rejection of riverside nuclear power plants’ cooling systems. Based upon the case studies of Oldbury-on-Severn in Gloucestershire in the United Kingdom and the German plants Biblis in Hesse and Lingen in Lower Saxony, it argues for two intertwined hypotheses: First, that artificial cooling facilities played an important part in galvanising resistance to planned nuclear power plants. The larger their visible impact on their surroundings was, the greater the resistance they aroused, up to the point of becoming primary targets of nuclear power’s opponents. Second, that even the largest, most far-reaching, and most visible artefacts could be made acceptable to the local public if, in addition to the features technically necessary for the intended cooling effect, the cooling systems were also equipped with features that were regarded as positive for the surrounding environment and social life.
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