Construction of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, which will be Turkey’s first nuclear power plant, continues. It was announced years ago that the first unit of the plant, which will consist of four units and have a total installed capacity of 4800 MW, would be put into production last week, on the 100th anniversary of the Republic.
Here is an excerpt from Anadolu Agency’s coverage of the Akkuyu NPP groundbreaking ceremony on April 4, 2018:
“With the commissioning of the first reactor of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant in 2023, Turkey will join the family of countries using nuclear energy. Thus, we will crown the 100th anniversary of the foundation of our Republic with a historical work in the field of energy. When Akkuyu is commissioned with all its units, it will be able to meet 10 percent of our country’s electricity need. Thus, we will make our energy basket, which currently relies heavily on oil, natural gas and coal, greener.”
As you can see, we are talking about a project that will radically change the course of the electricity sector. However, this project has not yet been completed and put into production. According to statements from the authorities, Akkuyu NPP will be operational in 2024 and will start supplying electricity to the national grid. It is not surprising that there are delays in the realization schedule of such gigantic facilities. Moreover, if, in addition to its size, it contains many firsts for the country, a one-year delay can even be considered normal.
However, both the Akkuyu NPP authorities and the energy administration would benefit from a comprehensive briefing to enable market actors to see the way ahead. Indeed, the commissioning of a nuclear power plant is closely related to the commercial interests of the operators of existing and new electricity generation facilities. Who knows, the announcements regarding the Akkuyu NPP may lead some of the electricity generation plant investors, who are expected to act like prudent traders, to change their decisions?
Turkey has another project that is set to reshape the energy game both at home and in the region. The discovery and production of domestic natural gas in the Sakarya Gas Field in the Western Black Sea…
Despite the announcement of the start of production in May 2023, we cannot say that we have seen a satisfactory explanation of how much natural gas has been supplied to the national grid to date. Moreover, in honor of the production of domestic natural gas, it was even announced that a fee of 25 cubic meters per month of natural gas consumed in residences would be waived for one year, and this practice continues.
Of course, deep-sea drilling in the Black Sea and the resulting discovery and production of gas is a first. Of course, Turkey will face many problems and possible delays in realizing this first. And of course, in the economy and in the business world, not every target is met precisely. Targets essentially allow you to draw a road map.
However, just as Türkiye Petrolleri Anonim Ortaklığı (TPAO) can make statements about the amount of oil that has just been discovered and started to be produced in Gabar, economic actors have the right to expect the same for Black Sea natural gas, in our opinion.
