Türkiye aims for affordable and safe nuclear power, says Minister

ANKARA

Türkiye aims to have nuclear power at competitive prices, while also ensuring it has the safest technology and is characterized by a high level of domestic content, said Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, adding that efforts in this direction are ongoing.

According to a statement from the Energy Ministry, Bayraktar visited the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant in Constanța, Romania, where Canadian CANDU reactor technology is used, and received information about the reactors and the technology.

Speaking there, Bayraktar recalled that Türkiye has a target of reaching 20,000 megawatts of nuclear capacity by 2050.

Türkiye wants both to develop nuclear energy with competitive prices and to make these investments, while also adopting the safest technology, Bayraktar said.

“With a more comprehensive and holistic approach to nuclear waste management and nuclear fuel supply, we hope to implement our second and third projects in the near future,” he added.

“Securing our country’s energy supply and achieving the ‘2053 Net Zero Emissions’ target set by our President [Recep Tayyip Erdoğan] make nuclear energy an indispensable element for us,” Bayraktar said.

Bayraktar noted that construction of four nuclear reactors is ongoing at the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, adding that additional plants are planned in Sinop and Thrace to help meet the 20,000-megawatt target.

He also stated that small modular reactors are on the government’s agenda, emphasizing that Türkiye is currently at a critical stage.

“Türkiye is currently at a critical stage. At this stage, especially for the plants we will build after Akkuyu, we are conducting studies on technology selection, as well as on the technologies and countries we will partner and cooperate with in this field,” he said.

Bayraktar recalled that Türkiye has been engaged in long-running negotiations and cooperation with China in this field and that more intensive work has recently begun with South Korea as well.

He added that there has also been a particularly intense period of work in recent months regarding nuclear technology from Canada.

“We had the opportunity to observe on site two reactors built with CANDU technology in Romania,” Bayraktar said.

The minister also noted that a Canadian company is expected to hold a meeting with suppliers and equipment providers in Türkiye in late June or early July.