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Tag: nuclear power plant

  • Planned nuclear plant to be most quake-resistant building in Turkey

    Planned nuclear plant to be most quake-resistant building in Turkey

    taneryildizTurkey’s energy & natural resources minister said that a nuclear power plant, planned to be constructed in southern Turkey, would be the most quake-resistant building in the country

    Turkey’s energy & natural resources minister said on Friday that a nuclear power plant, planned to be constructed in southern Turkey, would be the most quake-resistant building in the country.

    Taner Yildiz said the project company would construct the most resistant and strongest building in Turkey.

    “Turkey has not experienced a magnitude-9 earthquake so far, however the project company will build the planned Akkuyu power plant in a way that could resist to such an earthquake,” Yildiz said.

    Yildiz’s remarks came after a nuclear crisis in Japan caused by a massive earthquake and tsunami in March. The 9.0 quake and tsunami set off the nuclear problems by knocking out power to cooling systems at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant on the northeast coast. Since then, four of the troubled plant’s six reactor units have seen fires, explosions or partial meltdowns. The unfolding crises have led to power shortages in Japan, forced factories to close, sent shockwaves through global manufacturing and triggered a plunge in Japanese stock prices.

    Moreover, Japan was rocked by a magnitude-7.4 earthquake last night, and country closed another power plant that was only 20 kilometers away from the epicenter.

    In May 2010, Turkey and Russia signed a deal for construction of Turkey’s first nuclear power plant in Akkuyu, a small town on the Mediterranean coast, which is expected to cost about 20 billion USD. Russian state-owned atomic power company ROSATOM is likely to start building the Akkuyu nuclear power plant in 2013 and the first reactor is planned to generate electricity in 2018.

    Russia will build four 1,200 megawatt units on Akkuyu site, and run the power plant for 60 years. Turkish state-owned electricity corporation has guaranteed to buy a fixed amount of the plant’s output over the first 15 years starting from initial commercial operation at a reported price of 12.35 US cents per kWh, with the rest of the electricity to be sold on the open market by the project company.

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  • Bulgarians irked at Turkey’s nuclear power plan

    Bulgarians irked at Turkey’s nuclear power plan

    Turkey is planning to build a nuclear power station at İğneada, a small town close to the Bulgarian border on the Black Sea coast. No official Bulgarian reaction has yet been recorded, but Internet forums were overwhelmed with alarmed messages regarding the possible consequences of the decision.

    Background

    Turkey is criss-crossed by fault lines, and small and medium-sized earthquakes are a near daily occurrence. Two large quakes in 1999 killed more than 20,000 people.

    The government says Turkey must diversify its energy mix and boost supply to keep up with soaring demand amid rapid economic growth. It is aiming to generate 20% of its power from nuclear sources by 2030.

    During a visit to Moscow last month, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Erdogan said construction on a plant might start in April.

    More on this topic

    News:Oettinger pushes for stress tests of Europe’s nuclear plants

    İğneada, which lies on the Black Sea coast in the region of Thrace, is the safest location for the plant in terms of earthquake resistance, Turkish officials said, according to a report in Turkish newspaper Hürriyet on Wednesday (6 April).

    A nuclear plant at İğneada would be the third such project recently announced by Turkey. Ankara has already approved plans to build two nuclear plants, one in Akkuyu on the Mediterranean and another one at Sinop, on the northern edge of Turkey’s Black Sea coast.

    Turkey concluded a deal with Russia to build Turkey’s first nuclear plant in Akkuyu. The total capacity of the nuclear power plants to be built in Akkuyu and Sinop is expected to be nearly 10,000 megawatts. The second nuclear plant will reportedly be developed by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) and Toshiba. TEPCO gained notoriety after the recent disaster at its Fukushima plant, the Turkish press reports.

    Turkey intends to build three nuclear power plants with a total power generation capacity of 15,000 megawatts by 2023, the officials said.

    The site planned for the Mediterranean nuclear station is only a couple of dozen miles away from a fault line which geologists fear is in danger of sliding at any time, Hayrettin Kilic, a nuclear physicist who campaigns against atomic power, is quoted by Reuters as saying.

    “There are a few proper places for the third nuclear power plant. İğneada seems to be the best one,” unnamed officials are quoted as saying.

    Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yıldız said no official decision had been taken regarding the location of a third nuclear plant.

    “We said our extensive 2023 vision also includes a third nuclear plant. This idea still exists but our main aim is now to conclude negotiations of the first two plants,” Yıldız said.

    According to the Dnevnik daily, EurActiv’s partner in Bulgaria, the planned Turkish plant is located 15km from Rezovo, a village situated on the Bulgarian side of the Black Sea, near the Turkish border.

    At the time of publication, 375 readers had commented on Dnevnik’s article, voicing concerns about the environmental risks of building a nuclear plant there.

    Bulgaria has a 300km-long Black Sea coast, which hosts a myriad of booming tourist resorts. Many posted comments related to concerns that the project will scare tourists away from Bulgaria. Some readers insisted that Sofia should block Turkey’s EU bid in retaliation.

    Bulgaria has one nuclear power plant, at Kozloduy on the Danube river, and has started building a second one at Belene, also on the river, which constitutes a natural border with Romania. Work at Belene was frozen after the Fukushima disaster pending further security assurances from Russian developer Rosatom.

    In Brussels, the European Commission admitted it could not prevent countries from building nuclear power stations in border regions, but highlighted the importance of the “stress tests” which the EU is aiming to put in place to improve nuclear safety after Fukushima.

    “That’s why we would like to include Turkey and other countries when we develop stress tests,” said Marlene Holzner, spokesperson for Energy Commissioner Guenter Oettinger.

    Such consultations were seen as useful when discussing plans for new nuclear power plants. It was easier to take measures to comply with the requirements of stress tests than to upgrade such facilities, she added.

    Positions

    Turkey should abandon plans to build nuclear power plants, because its proximity to geological fault lines means it could face a nuclear crisis like the one in Japan, Greenpeace said.

    “It is a mistake to go nuclear after what has happened in Japan,” Uygar Ozesmi, Greenpeace’s Mediterranean director, said at a news conference. “In a quake-prone country like Turkey, you cannot launch a nuclear power industry.”

    “Regardless of the dangers of an earthquake, nuclear technology itself is the main risk,” Ozesmi said. “Whatever generation you use requires a cooling system, and when we look at any major nuclear incident, the cooling system is at fault.”

    via Bulgarians irked at Turkey’s nuclear power plan | EurActiv.

  • Turkey to Build Its 3rd Nuclear Power Plant on Bulgarian Border

    Turkey to Build Its 3rd Nuclear Power Plant on Bulgarian Border

    Turkey plans to construct a nuclear power plant right on the Bulgarian border in the region of Eastern Thrace, virtually on the Black Sea coast.

    The Bulgarian Black Sea city of Burgas is only 75 km north of Turkey's Igneada. Map by stroitelstvo.info
    The Bulgarian Black Sea city of Burgas is only 75 km north of Turkey's Igneada. Map by stroitelstvo.info

    The site of what is planned to become the third nuclear power plant in Turkey, with projects for the other two already underway, will be the small Black Sea town of Igneada, a town of some 2 000 inhabitants, located 5 km south of the Rezovska (Rezovo) River, which marks the Bulgarian-Turkish border, according to reports in the Turkish press citing sources from the Turkish Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources.

    There is no border crossing near the village of Rezovo, which is located on the mouth of the Rezovska River on the Bulgarian-Turkish border, the closest Bulgarian-Turkish border crossing is at Malko Tarnovo, about 45 km to the west of the future Turkish NPP in Igneada.

    The Black Sea city of Burgas, the fourth largest city in Bulgaria, is located only 75 km north of Igneada.

    The project for the construction of the Turkish nuclear power plant in Igneada is the third in line in the plans of the Turkish government after the NPPs in Akkuyu and Sinop.

    In May 2010, Turkey reached an agreement with Russia for the construction of what will become Turkey’s first nuclear power plant in Mersin’s Akkuyu district.

    According to the agreement, Russia’s state-run Atomstroyexport JSC will construct four 1000 MW reactors at the Akkuyu nuclear power plant, and will have a controlling stake in the project. The project is estimated to cost about USD 25 B and was approved by Turkey’s Parliament in mid-July.

    Turkey’s Akkuyu NPP is viewed in Bulgaria as a competitor to the potential second Bulgarian NPP at Belene on the Danube where Atomstroyexport is supposed to construct two 1000 MW reactors.

    After months of talks, at the end of 2010 Japan came closer to grabbing from South Korea a deal for the construction of a nuclear power plant in Turkey, which should become Turkey’s second, to be located in Sinop on the Black Sea.

    In January 2011, Turkey’s Energy Minister Taner Yildiz announced that leading French companies Areva, GDF and EDF have offered Turkey to build what should become the country’s third nuclear power plant. He did not elaborate on the details of the project, but said talks with French authorities are continuing.

    Tekirdag in European Turkey and the capital Ankara were reported at the time to be the most likely locations for Turkey’s third NPP. Reports suggest that TAEK has identified Igneada on the Black Sea, as a third nuclear power plant site, future NPP site itself being 12 km from the Bulgarian border. Turkish environmentalist groups are said to be opposed to the construction of a NPP in the Thrace region in European Turkey.

    The nuclear disaster in Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi NPP caused by the devastating March 11 earthquake has not affected Turkey’s plans for building three nuclear plans.

    Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Ergodan has recently declared that the first Turkish nuclear plant in Akkuyu will be exemplary for the world in terms of safety.

    Greece and Cyprus recently voiced strong concerns over Turkey’s plans to build the Akkuyu NPP, described as a coastal nuclear power plant close to an earthquake-prone area, dismissing neighbors’ fears that Japan’s nuclear disaster shows that the new plant could be a risk to the whole Mediterranean region.

    Greece and Cyprus say the move is a gamble that could cause a catastrophe and want the European Union to scrutinize the EU candidate’s plan. The future Akkuyu plan will be on the Mediterranean coast, close to the Ecemis Fault, which an expert says could possibly generate a magnitude-7 quake.

    via Bulgaria: Turkey to Build Its 3rd Nuclear Power Plant on Bulgarian Border – Novinite.com – Sofia News Agency.

  • Nuclear Power Plant Plans in Turkey Angers Neighbors

    Nuclear Power Plant Plans in Turkey Angers Neighbors

    April 2, 2011 6:24 PM

    By Laura Phillips

    Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant stands on the edge of the Hudson River near the Ramapo Fault in Buchanan, New York on ... March 18, 2011. UPI/John Angelillo
    Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant stands on the edge of the Hudson River near the Ramapo Fault in Buchanan, New York on … March 18, 2011. UPI/John Angelillo

    indian point nuclear power plant on the hudson river in buchanan new yorkIndian Point Nuclear Power Plant stands on the edge of the Hudson River near the Ramapo Fault in Buchanan, New York on … Read MoreMarch 18, 2011. UPI/John Angelillo

    Nuclear power plant plans in Turkey close to an earthquake-prone area are angering neighboring countries who fear that the plant could be a risk to the whole Mediterranean region.

    Dismissing claims that a new plant near fault lines could create a similar situation to Japan’s current crisis, Turkish officials insist the plant is a safe and will be necessary to keep the country’s strong economy going. Greece and Cyprus say the plan is a gamble and want the European Union to scrutinize the idea.

    The EU is reassessing the whole 27-nation bloc’s energy policy and questioning the role of nuclear power on land where the 1986 Chernobyl disaster still haunts its habitants.

    Turkey is standing by its plans to build three nuclear power plants in the coming years, including one at Akkuyu on the Mediterranean coast, close to the Ecemis Fault, where experts say a 7-magnitude earthquake is possible.

    “Nuclear power for us is not an option because we are in a highly seismically active region,” Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said in Brussels last week. “The EU will ask for stress tests to be carried out at existing and planned facilities in neighboring countries — and we stressed the fact that Turkey is planning to build a nuclear site at Akkuyu.”

    via Nuclear Power Plant Plans in Turkey Angers Neighbors | ThirdAge.

  • Turkey Presses Ahead With Nuclear Power Plant Plans

    Turkey Presses Ahead With Nuclear Power Plant Plans

    The tide may have turned against nuclear power elsewhere, following the Fukushima Daiichi disaster in Japan, but Turkey is moving forward with its plans to build its first nuclear power plant.

    Activists march during a protest against the Turkish government's plans to build a nuclear power plant in the country in Istanbul March 19, 2011. The banner reads, "No no no."
    Activists march during a protest against the Turkish government's plans to build a nuclear power plant in the country in Istanbul March 19, 2011. The banner reads, "No no no."

    On Istanbul’s main high street, thousands of people protested against Turkey’s nuclear energy program. The protest follows Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s announcement last week that the country is forging ahead in its plan to build its nuclear plant.

    For one demonstrator this stance causes disbelief and fear.

    “I don’t understand why he is so stubborn” he said. “There is an ongoing disaster and he just does not care. This unbelievable. It’s dangerous in Chernobyl because of cancer, and I want my child grow up in a natural and healthy environment.”

    Japan’s recent disaster resonates strongly with many Turks. The country has first hand experience of a nuclear disaster when the Chernobyl nuclear power station spewed radioactive fallout all over Turkey’s Black Sea coast in 1986.

    The only advice people received then was to stay at home, along with words of comfort from the then president Kenan Evren “that radiation is good for the bones.”

    Turkey is located in one of the most active earthquake regions in the world, and more than 90 percent of its territory is prone to earthquakes.

    In 1999, the Istanbul region was hit by a powerful quake killing 30,000 people. But Prime Minister Erdogan plays down the risks.

    “Sure all the investments can have negative outcomes,” he said. “But you can’t give up your investments just because there can be some negative outcomes. We cannot say that there will be no earthquake. Sure it can be and our country is on a seismic zone. But we take all the precautions.”

    But with leading nuclear energy users like Germany and China putting their own programs on hold, criticism is growing over the prime minister’s stance.

    Pinar Aksogan of the environmental group Greenpeace argues the disaster in Japan shows nuclear energy can never be truly safe.

    “There are three reasons that nuclear power plants are always fragile: for natural disasters; for human faults; and, mistakes during their construction,” he said. “So these three things can never be avoided. So its very obvious, the whole world is rethinking of no longer building nuclear plants. So the insistence toward Turkey on building new plants is not logical.”

    Still, Turkey is forging ahead with its nuclear plans by recommitting itself to building three nuclear reactors, with construction on first starting as early as this April.

    The program seeks to bridge the country’s growing energy gap, the result of its rapidly expanding economy.

    Turkish President Abdullah Gul, while voicing caution, says the nuclear program should continue.

    “It is a fact that Turkey imports energy from abroad,” he said. “I don’t think it is right for Turkey to immediately give up on the plans for nuclear energy at once. After the Japan incidents these technologies should be reviewed and the contracts and ground work to be carried in minute details.”

    Experts says energy is seen as the Achilles’ heel because it currently imports nearly 95 percent of its oil and gas. With most of the imports coming from volatile regions like Iran and Iraq and the Caucasus reducing that dependency is seen as key both for security and for economic reasons.

    The controversy over Turkey’s nuclear energy program has now spread beyond its borders. Turkey’s European Union neighbor Greece has reacted with alarm that Ankara is still continuing with its program. Turkey’s first nuclear power station will be located on the Mediterranean coast, not far from its Greek islands, in Akkuyu.

    The Akkuyu site in particular is close to a fault line, as the government concedes. Small tremors are registered in the region almost daily, and a quake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale struck the nearby city of Adana in 1998.

    Athens is calling on Turkey to follow EU nuclear energy guidelines that restricts the building of nuclear reactors in such vulnerable places. But Ankara although its an EU candidate has dismissed the call saying its not bound by the guidelines as its not a member.

    via Turkey Presses Ahead With Nuclear Power Plant Plans | Europe | English.

    Activists march during a protest against the Turkish government's plans to build a nuclear power plant in the country in Istanbul March 19, 2011. The banner reads, "No no no."
    Activists march during a protest against the Turkish government's plans to build a nuclear power plant in the country in Istanbul March 19, 2011. The banner reads, "No no no."
  • Turkey may OK nuclear 18 months after Japan crisis

    Turkey may OK nuclear 18 months after Japan crisis

    By Orhan Coskun

    ISTANBUL | Thu Mar 24, 2011 11:11am EDT

    ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said on Thursday that approval for building a nuclear power plant, to be constructed with Russian help, may take 1-1/2 years following the earthquake and nuclear crisis in Japan.

    Turkey's Energy Minister Taner Yildiz poses for a picture before an interview with Reuters in Ankara March 24, 2011. Credit: Reuters/Umit Bektas
    Turkey's Energy Minister Taner Yildiz poses for a picture before an interview with Reuters in Ankara March 24, 2011. Credit: Reuters/Umit Bektas

    Turkey’s first power plant is to be built in Mersin by Russia’s Rosatom on the Mediterranean coast.

    “If we consider that the construction period is seven years, we will accelerate this as much as possible,” Yildiz told Reuters in an interview. “2019 will be the year when we can use nuclear energy … In 2023 we aim to be a Turkey with three (nuclear) power stations with 12 units.”

    Greenpeace has warned Turkey that it should abandon plans for nuclear plants, because its proximity to geological fault lines and vulnerability to earthquakes made the risks too great.

    The minister said Turkey’s nuclear plans would be reviewed to learn lessons from Japan’s disaster in order to make the project more secure.

    “Like every country, there are lessons which we should draw from the incident in Japan,” Yildiz said. “But the issue must not reach the stage of ‘Are you for or against?’ nuclear power plants.”

    Japan’s nuclear crisis prompted German Chancellor Angela Merkel to order safety checks on all nuclear plants and close the seven oldest for at least three months. Italy announced a one-year moratorium on building nuclear plants, and a number of other European nations from Finland to Switzerland turned more skeptical about nuclear energy.

    Yildiz said that he hoped to complete talks with Japan for a second nuclear plant before the end of the year. Turkey is in talks with Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) and Toshiba on building a plant on the Black Sea coast.

    Yildiz also said Turkish Petroleum would invest $5 billion in Iraq as a result of tenders, which it has won. If the terms are right, the company will enter a fourth round of oil and gas exploration tenders in Iraq set for November, which include the Kurdish north of the country.

    (Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Jane Baird)

    via Turkey may OK nuclear 18 months after Japan crisis | Reuters.