Akkuyu eyes first nuclear power by year-end

Akkuyu eyes first nuclear power by year-end

ANKARA

Türkiye’s first nuclear power plant has completed a critical commissioning milestone by loading simulated fuel assemblies into its first reactor unit, keeping the project on track to generate its first electricity by the end of the year, officials have announced.

The Energy and Natural Resources Ministry said a total of 163 dummy fuel assemblies were loaded into the reactor pressure vessel at the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, located in the southern province of Mersin.

The five-day, round-the-clock operation served as a full-scale rehearsal for the actual loading of radioactive fuel. Supervised by the country’s Nuclear Regulatory Authority, the procedure tested the facility’s mechanical, hydraulic and thermal systems, as well as its structural durability under international safety requirements.

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar praised the step as a major advancement in the multibillion-dollar project’s timeline.

“We have successfully completed one of the most important phases of the commissioning schedule in the first unit of our Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant,” Bayraktar said in a statement. “Our goal is to realize the first electricity production from the plant by the end of the year, marking Türkiye’s transition into a new era of nuclear energy.”

Bayraktar emphasized that the zero-emission, uninterrupted power source would become a cornerstone of the nation’s energy mix, describing it as environmentally friendly.

Looking beyond the Akkuyu project, which is being built by Russia’s state-owned corporate energy giant Rosatom, the minister outlined broader atomic ambitions for the country. Türkiye plans to build additional conventional nuclear plants in the northern province of Sinop and the northwestern region of Thrace, while also incorporating small modular reactors into its production portfolio.

The government aims to scale its nuclear capacity to 20,000 megawatts by 2050 as part of a long-term strategy to achieve full energy independence.