Turkey’s Energy Market Regulator Grants Power Generation Licence To Akkuyu Project

16 Jun (NucNet): Turkish Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK) has issued a power generation licence to Akkuyu Nuclear, the joint stock company developing Turkey’s first nuclear power station project. The licence will be valid for 49 years from 15 June 2017 until 15 June 2066, Akkuyu Nuclear said in a statement. The company said it applied for the generation licence to EPDK in February 2017. The €20bn ($22bn) Akkuyu, near Mersin on Turkey’s southern Mediterranean coast, is to be built in cooperation with Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom under a contract signed in 2010. The station will have four 1,200-MW VVER units expected to come online in 2023. In March 2017, Akkuyu Nuclear applied for a construction licence to the Turkish Atomic Energy Authority. Akkuyu Nuclear said it expects to obtain in the “nearest future” a limited construction permit. It will allow start of works on the non-nuclear phase of the project. Akkuyu Nuclear said the main construction permit and first concrete pouring at Akkuyu are expected in March 2018.