Russia Leads Race to Construct Turkey's Second Nuclear Plant, Says Energy Minister
According to a Bloomberg report, Ankara is currently in discussions with China and South Korea regarding nuclear projects. For more details, visit RT.com.
TroibNews 
Discussions are underway between Ankara and both China and South Korea for nuclear projects, as disclosed by Alparslan Bayraktar in his interview with Bloomberg.
According to a Bloomberg report on Tuesday, citing Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, Russian state-owned corporation Rosatom is currently leading the race to build a second nuclear power facility in Türkiye.
Rosatom, which commenced operations on Türkiye’s inaugural nuclear site, the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, in April, is considered a priority candidate, particularly because of Ankara’s goal to establish 20 gigawatts of nuclear capacity by 2050. Talks are ongoing with Russia, China, South Korea, and the US concerning the construction of two additional nuclear estates.
Projected to fulfill over 10% of Türkiye’s electrical demands, the $20-billion Akkuyu plant is the nation's first foray into nuclear energy and is seen by Bayraktar as a way to decrease power generation costs and lower consumer prices.
With Rosatom’s continued involvement at Akkuyu, Bayraktar believes they hold a significant advantage for the upcoming Sinop plant project, which will feature four reactors along the Black Sea coast.
“This is the main reason why they’re naturally keen and in this sense I and many others think they’re ahead,” said Bayraktar during his interview. He also acknowledged Rosatom as "a company that’s invested in Türkiye and has gained experience."
Türkiye is simultaneously advancing negotiations with South Korea, one of the contenders for the Sinop project, according to Bayraktar. He remarked that the realization of the Sinop plant would likely be a collaborative effort between governmental and private entities and estimated that the licensing phase could span two to three years.
Beyond the Sinop initiative, discussions with China and the US are ongoing regarding a prospective third nuclear power station in the north-western region of Thrace. Bayraktar mentioned that Westinghouse Electric, a US nuclear technology firm, is keen on developing conventional and innovative small modular nuclear facilities in Türkiye, with plans for company executives to visit later in the month.
Additionally, Aleksey Likhachev, head of Rosatom, suggested that Russia might also place bids for the Thrace site.
“It may well be so that several vendors will compete for it. We are not afraid of competition; on the contrary, it is more to inspire us,” Likhachev stated earlier this year.
Strengthening ties between Moscow and Ankara have seen Russia emerge as a pivotal oil and gas provider for Türkiye. According to Bloomberg, expanding involvement in nuclear projects is likely to provide Moscow with a breadth of opportunities in the Turkish electricity market, serving approximately 85 million consumers.
Sanya Singh for TROIB News
According to a Bloomberg report on Tuesday, citing Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, Russian state-owned corporation Rosatom is currently leading the race to build a second nuclear power facility in Türkiye.
Rosatom, which commenced operations on Türkiye’s inaugural nuclear site, the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, in April, is considered a priority candidate, particularly because of Ankara’s goal to establish 20 gigawatts of nuclear capacity by 2050. Talks are ongoing with Russia, China, South Korea, and the US concerning the construction of two additional nuclear estates.
Projected to fulfill over 10% of Türkiye’s electrical demands, the $20-billion Akkuyu plant is the nation's first foray into nuclear energy and is seen by Bayraktar as a way to decrease power generation costs and lower consumer prices.
With Rosatom’s continued involvement at Akkuyu, Bayraktar believes they hold a significant advantage for the upcoming Sinop plant project, which will feature four reactors along the Black Sea coast.
“This is the main reason why they’re naturally keen and in this sense I and many others think they’re ahead,” said Bayraktar during his interview. He also acknowledged Rosatom as "a company that’s invested in Türkiye and has gained experience."
Türkiye is simultaneously advancing negotiations with South Korea, one of the contenders for the Sinop project, according to Bayraktar. He remarked that the realization of the Sinop plant would likely be a collaborative effort between governmental and private entities and estimated that the licensing phase could span two to three years.
Beyond the Sinop initiative, discussions with China and the US are ongoing regarding a prospective third nuclear power station in the north-western region of Thrace. Bayraktar mentioned that Westinghouse Electric, a US nuclear technology firm, is keen on developing conventional and innovative small modular nuclear facilities in Türkiye, with plans for company executives to visit later in the month.
Additionally, Aleksey Likhachev, head of Rosatom, suggested that Russia might also place bids for the Thrace site.
“It may well be so that several vendors will compete for it. We are not afraid of competition; on the contrary, it is more to inspire us,” Likhachev stated earlier this year.
Strengthening ties between Moscow and Ankara have seen Russia emerge as a pivotal oil and gas provider for Türkiye. According to Bloomberg, expanding involvement in nuclear projects is likely to provide Moscow with a breadth of opportunities in the Turkish electricity market, serving approximately 85 million consumers.
Sanya Singh for TROIB News
