VVER-1200 reactor supplied by Russia enters final construction phase
The Turkish Nuclear Regulatory Agency has issued a commissioning permit for Unit 1 of the Akkuyu nuclear power station under construction in southwest Turkey, project owner Akkuyu Nuclear said in a statement.
The statement said the permit marks the beginning of the final construction phase for the project, enabling the preparation for the eventual reactor startup and related commissioning activities.
Akkuyu Nuclear said the next step will now be to obtain an operating license for Akkuyu-1 which will allow loading nuclear fuel into the unit’s reactor core.
The company said it had submitted all necessary documentation for the commissioning permit in March and August 2023.
The $20bn (€18.7bn) Akkuyu, the first commercial nuclear power station in Turkey, is being built by subsidiaries of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom under a contract signed in 2010.
The station, in Mersin province on Turkey’s southern Mediterranean coast, will have four Generation III+ VVER-1200 units, with the first expected to come online in 2025 and a further unit starting every year afterwards. Construction of Akkuyu-1 began in April 2018.
According to the local Daily Sabah, the plant will meet 10% of Turkey’s electricity demand when fully operational in 2028.
The daily said the plant is part of Turkey’s ambitious plan to have a carbon-neutral economy by 2053.
