Türkiye aims for more nuclear power

Energy Minister Fatih Dönmez has said that the first unit at the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant will be commissioned at the end of 2023, and that nuclear power plants will be seen in various parts of the country in the next 10 to 20 years, Qazet.az reports.

“We laid the foundation of the fourth unit in Akkuyu this year and there are over 20,000 workers in the field,” Dönmez said on Dec. 20 at the Natural Gas Processing Facility that is under construction in Filyos town of the Black Sea province of Zonguldak.

Türkiye’s first nuclear power plant is being built in the Akkuyu district of the southern province of Mersin by Russia’s Rosatom. Two more nuclear power plants, in the Black Sea province of Sinop and in İğneada town of the western province of Kırklareli, are currently in planning stages.

“By the end of 2023, we hope to put the first unit in Akkuyu into operation,” Dönmez added.

“In addition, we will have to invest more in nuclear power plants, as it is not possible to meet the increasing energy needs of the country in line with the 2053 net zero emission target only from renewable energy sources. As a matter of fact, the European Union commission decided to give the green label to nuclear power plants. We will start to see nuclear power plants in various parts of our country in the next 10 and 20 years.”