Turkey sets ambitious goals for nuclear energy expansion

Construction work at Turkey’s Akkuyu nuclear power plant

At the recent Atomexpo forum in Sochi, energy and natural resources minister Alparslan Bayraktar said nuclear energy would play a “critical role” in Turkey’s journey towards achieving net-zero emissions by 2053.

“We aim to reach a total of 12 reactors and a nuclear power of 15,000 megawatts, with probably four reactors in three different locations in Turkey,” he said.

Bayraktar said the country’s aim was to install two additional nuclear plants alongside the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), currently under construction in the Mersin province.

The proposed expansion aims to reach 7.2 gigawatts (GW) of nuclear capacity by 2035 and up to 20GW by 2050.

Additionally, Bayraktar described plans for incorporating small modular reactors, which could potentially contribute some 5GW over the next few decades.

The minister also emphasised the necessity of developing a balanced energy mix, combining renewable sources with stable base load power, particularly citing the intermittent nature of solar and wind energy.

“We have a great potential for renewables and energy efficiency, but we absolutely need to add nuclear energy into our energy mix,” Bayraktar said.