Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar said that nuclear energy is an economic need for Türkiye beyond a dream.
Expectation 4 Percent
Minister Bayraktar, who attended the panel titled “The Role of the Nuclear Energy Industry in Global Development” held on the margins of the 28th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, made a speech there. Bayraktar stated that they expect Türkiye’s energy demand to increase by at least 4 percent per year and said, “When you add elements such as big data, artificial intelligence and digitalization to the equation, this demand will increase even more. We need to meet this demand and invest in our installed capacity.”
Clean Base Load
Bayraktar, who emphasized that Turkey needs a clean base load, said, “Nuclear energy is an economic need beyond a dream for Turkey. Clean base load is a necessity for our growing economy and nuclear energy meets this.”
Need for Additional Reactor
Bayraktar pointed out that they are working with Rosatom on the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant and that they need 4 more reactors in addition to the 8 units under construction there, and that 5 gigawatt small modular reactors are also necessary to provide affordable energy and increase supply security.
More than 30 thousand jobs
Bayraktar, who drew attention to the technical, economic and social dimensions of nuclear energy projects, said, “Thanks to Akkuyu NPP, approximately 300 companies from industry to construction have developed an ecosystem around the project. In addition to thousands of employees in these companies, more than 30 thousand people are currently working in the project area.”
Driving force
Bayraktar underlined that they gained human capital thanks to the project and said, “We have the chance to export the skills we have gained here to projects in Hungary or Egypt. Hundreds of our students are receiving education in the nuclear field in Russia and human capital is developing even more. All these elements of nuclear energy create a driving force for our economy.”
The Importance of Security of Supply
Minister Bayraktar met with Russian Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilev as part of the forum. Bayraktar shared a post about the meeting on his social media account, saying, “We discussed the impact of regional and global developments on energy markets and the strategic importance of supply security. The status of current projects between our countries and new areas of cooperation for the upcoming period were also among the main topics of our meeting.”
Consultation for Akkuyu
Minister Bayraktar also met with Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev. Bayraktar made the following statement on social media: “While discussing the latest situation in Akkuyu, we evaluated our future planning in the nuclear field.”
