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

Japan to share experiences with Turkey in nuclear energy

AA

Japanese PM Abe said they would share their experiences in the nuclear energy field with Turkey

 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe touched on Japan's cooperation works with Turkey in the field of nuclear energy and has said on Friday, "We believe, it is Japan's responsibility to share our experience and lessons learnt from the severe accidents by contribute enhancing nuclear safety."

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who is currently visiting Turkey to hold formal talks held a press meeting at the Hilton Hotel in Turkish capital Ankara and assessed his Middle East trip.

Abe reminded that his visit to the region was planned to hold talks in Russia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Turkey.

He said, the purpose of this trip to the Middle East was to step beyond conditional resources of energy centric relations, such as crude oil transactions and broad range of economic cooperation as well as political security and cultural ties.

Abe added, "In this framework, I stated while visiting Saudi Arabia that I intend to strengthen Japan's relationship with Middle East in a major way to as comprehensive partnership for stability and prosperity. The greatest feature of my visit is that I have the company by the biggest and strongest delegation of more than hundred leaders representing Japanese business including, agriculture and medicine. These businesspeople have successfully marketed the compelling strength of Japan's business and economy indeed it marks the start of full scale economic diplomacy."

Turkey, Japan sign $22 bln deal for Sinop nuclear plant

AA

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Japanese counterpart, Shinzo Abe, signed a $22 bln deal on Turkey’s second nuclear plant project on May 3 in the Black Sea province of Sinop, ending months of speculation about the winning bidder for the plant.

“This is a very important deal. With this second nuclear plant, we have also taken the first step toward a third one, which is a lot to us,” Erdoğan told reporters after a signing ceremony with Abe. Erdoğan also emphasized Japan’s safety know-how and experience against earthquakes.

Underlining the significance of the agreement as Japan’s first nuclear deal since the 2011 nuclear disaster at Fukushima, Abe said safety would be the top priority for the project.

“We believe Japan will transfer its experiences and the lessons it learned from serious accidents to nuclear studies and will contribute to ensuring nuclear safety at the top level,” he said.

The consortium will also be responsible for the ground studies of Turkey’s third nuclear plant, which is slated to be built in a still-undetermined location.

The first unit of the nuclear plant is set to be active by 2023, while the last unit will come online by 2028. “We have 10 years now to make the nuclear plant active. I believe we can shorten this period together,” Erdoğan said.

Turkey to say in days who will build 2nd nuclear plant

Reuters

Turkey’s energy minister said Ankara will announce by the weekend which country will construct its second nuclear power station, a project expected to cost around $22 billion.

Turkey, likely to overtake Britain as Europe’s third-biggest electricity consumer within ten years, plans to build several nuclear plants over the next decade to reduce its dependence on imported oil and gas.

“We are about to finalise the agreement for construction of the second power plant. China and Japan are the front runners,” Taner Yıldız told reporters today.

Turkey is expected to choose a Japanese consortium of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Itochu , with France’s GDF Suez, to build the plant which is seen having a capacity of around 4,500-5,000 megawatts (MW), according to Turkish government sources.

Turkish media reported in March that the deal will be signed by Turkish and Japanese officials in early May to construct four pressurized water nuclear reactors with a combined capacity of about 4.5 gigawatts at Sinop on theBlack Sea. Construction is to start in 2017.

Turkey signed a deal with Russia’s Rosatom in 2010 to build its first nuclear power station. Rosatom will start construction in mid-2015 and it expects electricity production to start in 2019, its deputy general manager said in February.

Japan, France set to win Turkish nuclear plant deal

AFP

TOKYO — A consortium of Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and France's Areva are on track to win a deal to build a $20 billion nuclear power station in Turkey, a report said on Wednesday.

The top-selling Yomiuri Shimbun said Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo would likely sign the deal with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a visit to Turkey next week as part of a four-nation trip that ends on May 4.

A Mitsubishi Heavy spokesman declined comment on the Yomiuri report Wednesday, while an official in the Japanese trade ministry's nuclear energy policy division was not immediately available to comment.

Japan is increasingly looking abroad to grow its nuclear power business after demand fell away at home in the wake of the Fukushima atomic crisis two years ago.

An earlier report said the Turkish project would see four pressurised water reactors with a combined output of 4.5 million kilowatts built on the Black Sea coast.

Construction of the plant is slated to begin in 2017, with the first reactor coming online by 2023, Japan's leading Nikkei business daily has reported.

Turkey's Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said this month it was too early to declare a winner to build the project, amid reports the Franco-Japanese group had clinched it. Yildiz added that "we are currently holding talks with China and Japan".

"I can say Japan's claims are premature and the race is still continuing," he said in a televised interview.

Turkey nears decision on $20bn nuclear deal

Daniel Dombey     Financial Times

Turkey is in the final stages of deciding a showpiece nuclear power tender, with the choice resting between Japan and China.

The project, expected to be worth more than $20bn, has taken longer than expected to decide, with Turkey’s insistence on financial guarantees from the contactors or their home nations proving a key point of discussion.

“The competition continues. We are still in talks with China and Japan,” said Taner Yildiz, Turkey’s energy minister. “China and Japan are keen for the project.” He added that South Korea had pulled out of the tender because of problems over a treasury guarantee. A Canadian bid had previously pulled out.

Mr Yildiz added that Turkey had told South Korea that the question of a treasury guarantee was one of Turkey’s “red lines” for the project, and that “very intensive meetings with China and Japan are approaching the end.”

Japan’s Nikkei business daily had reported earlier on Thursday that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and France’s Areva had won the order, citing Japanese and Turkish sources.

The newspaper said the Turkish energy ministry had informed Japanese government and corporate officials of the decision to award the deal to build four pressurised water nuclear reactors with a combined capacity of about 4.5 gigawatts at Sinop on the Black Sea, the report said.

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

China ‘has advantage’ in bid for Turkey's 2nd nuclear plant

 

 Hurriyet Daily News

A withdraw from Treasury guarantee demand and self-financing option makes China advantageous in its race with Japan, South Korea and Canada for Turkey’s second planned nuclear facility, Turkish Energy Minister Yıldız says. The winner is expected to be announced before the end of the year

As the Turkish government nears the deadline it set for itself to announce the winning company of a bid for a second nuclear plant in the Black Sea region, Energy Minister Taner Yıldız has said China possesses an advantage.

China brings it own financing to the project and does not demand a Treasury guarantee, which are important advantages, Yıldız said at the Caspian Forum 2012 in Istanbul  Reuters reported.

However, China is also demanding a share in the discussed facility, Yıldız said.

Canada, South Korea and Japan are also bidding for the Sinop nuclear facility plans and the ministry had earlier announced the winner would be made public by the end of this year.

UAE may Join Turkey Nuclear Power Plant Project

AFP

The United Arab Emirates could join a project to build Turkey's second nuclear power plant if South Korea is involved, Turkish energy minister said today.

"Officials from the United Arab Emirates said they could be a partner in the project if South Korea undertakes the building of the nuclear power plant plant," in northern Turkey, Taner Yıldız was quoted as saying by Anatolia news agency.

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.

The government plans to build a second reactor in northern Turkey, near the Black Sea city of Sinop. But it has not yet announced a location for a third reactor.

Ankara is negotiating with a number of countries including South Korea, China and Japan for the second power plant

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.