Turkey targets trial run at nuclear plant this year

Trial production at Turkey’s Akkuyu nuclear power plant is to start by the end of the year, President Tayyip Erdogan has said.

Construction of the first reactor is nearing completion and the plant is expected to be operating at full capacity in 2028 following the completion of the other reactors, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported, citing Erdogan’s speech at the Istanbul Natural Resources Summit.

The Akkuyu plant is being built by Russia’s state-owned Rosatom in the Mersin province on the southern Mediterranean coastline.

In September 2024, energy and natural resources minister Alparslan Bayraktar reiterated Ankara’s long-term nuclear energy ambitions, aiming to achieve 20,000 megawatts by 2050.

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Turkey aims to generate 7.2 gigawatts (GW) of nuclear capacity by 2035 and 20GW in its energy mix by 2050.

He said Turkey has launched several initiatives to support regional energy security and help ease Europe’s energy crisis.

Ankara has completed agreements for the supply of liquefied natural gas from 2027 with two major oil companies in the UK and France, he said.