The head of the Turkish Energy Ministry, Alparslan Bayraktar, confirmed plans to launch the first power unit of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant in 2026.
"Our goal is to start producing energy at the first Akkuyu reactor this year and gradually put the remaining reactors into operation. After the launch of the four reactors, we will cover 10% of our electricity needs from this source," TRT TV quoted the minister as saying. According to him, "the construction of the first power unit of the "Akkuyu" NPP is 99% complete.
Speaking about the plans to build two more nuclear power plants in Sinop and Thrace, Bayraktar pointed out that with the implementation of these projects “Turkey will become a country with significant nuclear power“.
The “Akkuyu“ NPP is the first nuclear power plant in Turkey to be built by the state corporation “Rosatom”. The NPP project includes four power units with Russian VVER generation 3+ reactors. The capacity of each nuclear power unit will be 1200 MW. The construction of the “Akkuyu“ NPP is the first project in the global nuclear industry to be implemented under the Build-Own-Operate model.