Turkey to Build First Nuclear Plant

The Turkish subsidiary of Russia’s nuclear energy company Rosatom plans to launch its project to build the first nuclear power plant in Turkey next year, Russian news agency TASS reported, citing a statement from the Rosatom State Nuclear Corporation. Russia and Turkey signed an inter-governmental agreement in 2010 on cooperation in the construction and operation of Turkey’s first NPP. The $20-billion Akkuyu NPP project stipulates building four power units with VVER-1200 reactors and a total capacity of 4,800 megawatts in the southern Turkish province of Mersin. The plant is estimated to meet around 6-7% of Turkey's electricity demand. The project is to be carried out by Akkuyu Nuclear Company, a subsidiary of Rosatom Energy International, which was granted a 49-year-long electricity generation license from the Turkish Energy Market Regulatory Authority on Thursday. "After carefully reviewing the bid, the regulatory council decided to give the green light to the bid and issued a power generation license to Akkuyu Nuclear Company, valid until June 15, 2066," Rosatom said in a statement.