The first nuclear reactor at the Akkuyu plant on Turkey’s southern coast, opposite Cyprus, is expected to begin operating in the coming weeks, according to Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar.
Bayraktar announced the timeline while presenting the country’s new energy plan, “Milli Enerji 2040”. He said construction work on all four reactors at the nuclear power plant was continuing.
Ankara aims for nuclear energy to meet 11% of Turkey’s energy needs by 2040. According to the minister, this would allow the country to save $6 billion a year on natural gas imports.
Plans for nuclear power plants in Sinop and Eastern Thrace are at the decision-making stage, he added. Turkey aims to reach nuclear capacity of 20,000 megawatts by 2050.
Presenting the plan ahead of the UN Climate Conference (COP31) in Antalya, Bayraktar also said the country was seeking full energy independence by 2049.
According to him, Turkey currently relies on external sources for 68% of its energy, with annual import costs of $90 billion. The goal is to bring that share below 50% during the 2030s.
The Turkish minister also announced investments of $190 billion in the energy sector. The aim is to increase the share of renewable sources in installed electricity generation capacity from 63% to 71% by 2040.
Source: CNA
