Russian Rosatom seeking partnership for nuke plant in Turkey

Hurriyet Daily News

Russian Rosatom is reported to establish a partnership with France-based EDF and to give it a share in the nuclear plant to be built in Mersin-Akkuyu as well as others. “We own for the moment 100 percent of the 4.800 megawatts we are building in Turkey and we are ready to substantially cut (our holding),” Rosatom Deputy Chairman Nikolai Spasskyi according to the French daily Les Echos.

Rosatom appears to agree partnership deals with French power group EDF and is proposing it take stakes in nuclear power stations Rosatom is building in Kaliningrad and Turkey, Les Echos reported on Monday.

EDF and Russia’s state-owned nuclear company laid the basis for closer ties with an agreement in 2010 for co-operation in fields such as research and development and possible joint projects.

“EDF is one of the biggest world players in this sector and we are proposing interesting projects,” the paper quoted Rosatom Deputy Chairman Nikolai Spassky telling it on the margins of a meeting on nuclear energy hosted by the OECD. EDF declined comment.

Spassky said the Russian company was also interested in developing partnerships with French nuclear group Areva, which is one of the partners of the Japanese-French consortium which would build the second nucelar plant of Turkey, and was ready for “concrete industrial co-operation” with it as well as with EDF, the paper reported.

Source:  http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/russian-rosatom-seeking-partnership-for-nuke-plant-in-turkey-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=46374&NewsCatID=348

International Energy Agency Chief Economist Fatih Birol: Nuclear power key to Turkish energy future

Turkey should build “as much nuclear power as possible” to help meet its growing energy needs, International Energy Agency Chief Economist Fatih Birol said in Brussels on Sunday night.

Speaking at the German Marshall Fund's Brussels Forum, the economist qualified his endorsement by saying that nuclear power should only be embraced “with attention given to seismic risks” that could unleash a Fukushima-style accident on Turkish soil.

Birol was unwavering in his endorsement however, saying that Turkey could employ the technology safely and use it to overcome its dependence on foreign fossil fuels. The argument that Germany and Japan are jettisoning the technology also didn't sway the economist, who was quoted as saying: “When we compare Turkey and Germany there are huge differences. In Germany, electricity demand won't even grow 1 percent this year. … But as for Turkey, demand is increasing very rapidly. From this perspective, Turkey must open nuclear power plants.”

His recommendation comes after Ankara's announcement this week that it will begin accepting bids for a newly proposed nuclear plant in the Black Sea province of Sinop. Birol's comments also come amid sustained criticism of Ankara's nuclear plans and a $25 billion nuclear facility planned for the southern province of Mersin, where activists say it faces an unacceptable risk of an earthquake.

Asian bids 'closer' to winning Turkey's 2nd nuclear plant project

Project image from Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant of Turkey

Hurriyet Daily News

Asian countries are closer to winning a bid to build Turkey's second nuclear power plant near the Black Sea city of Sinop, the Turkish energy minister said on Tuesday, in a signal that Canada was no longer in the running.

"Even though we have not reached a final agreement right now, I can say that Far Eastern countries are closer" to winning the tender on the building of a second reactor, Taner Yildiz was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency. Ankara is officially in negotiations with China, Japan, South Korea and Canada to build the second nuclear reactor. The government plans to build three nuclear power plants within five years in hopes of preventing a possible energy shortage and reducing dependence on foreign energy supplies.

Turkey struck a deal with Russia in 2010 to build the country's first power plant at Akkuyu in the southern Mersin province.

Yildiz said Tuesday that there was no agreement yet on the location of a third reactor but added that the town of Igneada in the Black Sea region near the Bulgarian border was one of the options.

Source: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/asian-bids-closer-to-winning-turkey-nuclear-plant-project.aspx?pageID=238&nID=37612&NewsCatID=348

Turkey’s energy dance

 
J. Berkshire Miller*    CNN

Surrounded by a sea of uncertainty, Turkey continues a sustained effort to bolster its ties with East Asia. Ankara has long established relations with the region’s key players, including China, Japan and South Korea. A historical lack of management of these key relationships, though, has led to Turkey underperforming in its attempts to brand itself in the region. At the same time, though, Turkey is facing considerable challenges and opportunities in its own geopolitical neighborhood.

The strategic topography of the Middle East remains dynamic and unpredictable, and the sovereign debt crisis in Europe risks jeopardizing Ankara’s significant interests in exporting and serving as a transit country to the continent. This region will always be Turkey’s backyard and the legacy of the Ottoman Empire allows a certain amount of exceptionalism – and sometimes isolation – when dealing with neighbors.

One area where Ankara is hoping to secure an agreement with Asia is through the development of its civil nuclear program. As Turkey’s economy and population have continued to grow, the government has remained committed to finding new energy sources to meet increased demand.

But complicating matters have been strained relations with Syria, Iran and the Kurdish region of Iraq. Nearly half of Turkey’s energy imports come in the form of gas, mainly from Russia and Iran. Gas from Iran makes up as much as 20 percent of Turkey’s total energy imports – a number that’s declining rapidly due to American pressure to isolate Tehran over its nuclear program.