Historic Day in Akkuyu
The turbine shaft of the first reactor of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), which is planned to be commissioned first, was successfully rotated. Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar stated that this event is one of the important milestones in Türkiye's nuclear history and said, “We will put the first reactor into trial production in 2025. We aim to generate the first electricity from here.”
A ceremony was conducted
A ceremony was held to mark the completion of the assembly of the Akkuyu NPP Power Unit 1 Turbine Facility. The ceremony held at Akkuyu NPP was attended by Minister Bayraktar, as well as Alexey Likhachev, General Director of Rosatom, the Russian State Nuclear Energy Corporation, and employees working at the plant.
An Important Step
Delivering a speech at the ceremony, Minister Bayraktar stated that they are experiencing a historic day in Akkuyu and said, “Today we are turning the turbine shaft of the first unit. This is one of the important steps and milestones in Türkiye's nuclear history.”
Reflection of High Will
Bayraktar said that Türkiye has been in the international nuclear community since the 1950s and has carried out many studies in this field, and added: “In 2010, the first step of the power plant project we are in was taken with an intergovernmental agreement, which reflected the high will of our President during his prime ministership with Mr. Putin.”
Core Element
Bayraktar noted that Türkiye's demand for electricity continues to increase in line with its growing economy and said, “As Türkiye, we have made nuclear energy one of the most fundamental elements of our energy policy in order to meet this increasing demand in an uninterrupted, environmentally friendly, low-emission and clean way.”
10 percent from Nuclear
Underlining that Türkiye absolutely needs nuclear energy in order to return to a net zero carbon-free economy, Bayraktar said, “In 2050, Türkiye has to put Sinop and Thrace next to Akkuyu, and small modular reactors of about 5 thousand megawatts next to all of these. When we reach our 20,000 megawatt target, we will provide 10 percent of our energy from nuclear.”
Final Decision in 2025
Bayraktar reminded that Türkiye, like many developed western countries, signed the declaration of “tripling the current installed capacity in nuclear power by 2050” at the United Nations Conference, and said: “If the world is to combat global warming, it is not possible to achieve this without nuclear power. Therefore, we started this journey with this understanding. And hopefully, we will put the first reactor, the first unit you see here, into trial production in 2025. We aim to generate the first electricity from here. By 2028, we need to commission all four reactors.” Bayraktar added that they aim to make a final decision on the Sinop and Thrace projects in 2025.