First unit of Akkuyu nuclear power plant to be launched in 2023
Meanwhile, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan underscored that the use of domestic energy sources should be increased in order to ensure sustainable growth, adding that they will focus on renewable and nuclear energy investments within this scope. Erdoğan also announced that works on the third nuclear power plant have started.
The nuclear plant in the southern province of Mersin is the first of three nuclear power plants Turkey currently plans to build to reduce its dependence on imported energy from exporters. Turkey launched the construction of its first nuclear power plant in negotiations with Russia in 2010 for greater energy independence. The $20 billion project will consist of four units, each of which will be capable of generating 1,200 megawatts of electricity. Rosatom is constructing Akkuyu and it is expected that the facility will produce approximately 35 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year once completed and its service life is estimated to last 60 years.