Turkey in 3rd nuke plant bid

ANKARA

This image shows a model of Turkey’s second nuclear power plant to be built in the Black Sea city of Sinop. There are four bidders currently in the running.

France and the United States could bid to construct energy-hungry Turkey’s third nuclear power plant, Energy Minister Taner Yıldız has said, according to daily Milliyet.

“The negotiations for Turkey’s second nuclear power plant are a precursor to negotiations for the third nuclear power plant. For the second plant, we will choose one of four competing countries,” Yıldız said Oct. 20 at Turkey’s Nuclear Energy Production Forum.

“We have told the bidders that those who are not chosen for the second plant still have a chance for the third plant. Furthermore, there could be interest from countries which have thus far not shown interest in the first two plants,” said Yıldız.

France provides 74 percent of its own energy from nuclear power and is very experienced in this field but could not bid for Turkey’s first two plants due to political reasons. The U.S. could follow the Russian model of bidding for contracts with a strategic partner, the newspaper said.

Russia’s state-run Rosatom is building Turkey’s first nuclear facility in the southern province of Mersin. Japanese, South Korean, Chinese and Canadian firms are shortlisted for the second plant in the northern province of Sinop.

No decision has yet been made over the exact location of a third plant, but sources have speculated that it will be built in the Black Sea town of İğneada by the Bulgarian boarder.

Deputy Energy Minister Murat Mercan, who also spoke at the forum, said renewable and sustainable energy was key to the country’s development.

“Global energy consumption is going to increase by 50 percent by 2020, and developing countries will account for most of this demand. It does not seem possible to provide global clean energy without nuclear power,” he said. “Our country needs nuclear energy since it is so dependent on foreign energy sources.”

The construction of the first power unit of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant will be completed in 2019, Akkuyu NGS Corporation Deputy Director General Rauf Kasumov told Anatolia news agency on Oct. 20, adding that Turkey’s energy needs were increasing in tandem with the country’s population boom. The company was founded by Rosatom with a specific task to build and operate the plant.

Turkey’s electricity consumption is doubling every 10 years, said Kasumov, adding that Turkey’s own energy resources were limited and that the cheapest and least harmful energy production option was nuclear.

Kasumov said 3,500 people would work at the power plant, contributing to the region’s development.