Nuclear fuel loading into the reactor of Unit 1 at the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, along with its subsequent launch, is scheduled for this fall, Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev told Sputnik.
Rosatom plans to begin the “hot test” in July — the main stage of commissioning work before the startup of Akkuyu’s unit 1, Likhachev noted.
If these tests successfully confirm the reliability of the reactor’s equipment and systems under design operating conditions, “we will begin loading fuel and ‘lifting up’ the unit in the fall,” he added.
Rosatom is building Türkiye’s first nuclear power plant in the southern province of Mersin under a 2010 intergovernmental agreement between Türkiye and Russia.
The facility will consist of four units, each with a capacity of 1,200 megawatts, bringing total installed capacity to 4,800 megawatts.
When completed, the Akkuyu will meet approximately ten percent of Türkiye’s electricity consumption on its own.
Meanwhile, the inner containment dome has been placed in its design position at Akkuyu NPP Unit 2, Akkuyu Nuclear JSC said in a statement on June 29.
This operation marked one of the key events in the construction of the reactor building, allowing the completion of the internal containment of the power unit, it noted.
