EUROPE: Turkey plans to open three nuclear power plants by 2035
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Turkey plans to build three nuclear power plants by 2035, Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said in an interview with Hurriyet Daily News on Friday, Xinhua reported.
Turkey’s first nuclear power plant is currently being built by Russia’s Rosatom group in Akkuyu on the Mediterranean coast.
“We definitely need two more conventional nuclear power plants, one on the Black Sea coast in the Sinope region and the other in the Thrace region in northwestern Turkey. 2025 will be a crucial year for us because we will decide on the technology and design for these plants,” Bayraktar said.
Turkey’s first nuclear power plant, Akkuyu (pictured), is set to start generating electricity in 2025. The plant’s initial reactor, with a capacity of 1,200 megawatts (MW), is expected to meet 2.5 percent of the country’s electricity demand. Once the plant is fully operational, with a total capacity of 4,800 MW, Akkuyu will provide 10% of Turkey’s electricity needs.
Bayraktar also highlighted the economic benefits, saying that the commissioning of the Akkuyu plant will reduce gas imports and Turkey will save about $3 billion annually.
To meet its 2035 energy goals, Turkey plans to develop nuclear power plants in Sinope and Thrace. Together, these projects will increase the country’s nuclear power capacity to 7,200 megawatts.
