The reality of Akkuyu and the longing for national nuclear power

In this article, I will discuss nuclear energy and a misguided choice Turkey has made in this field. As you know, while interest in nuclear energy is rising again in the global energy sector, the topic is also among the current debates in our country. I would like to state upfront that opposing nuclear energy for various reasons, especially environmental ones, is a respectable view; however, my own opinion is that Turkey should also join the nuclear league.

Nuclear energy is associated with high technology due to the diversity of its application areas. Within the scope of the peaceful use of nuclear energy, electricity generation from nuclear power plants emerges as an important component for the energy security of countries. It is a plain fact that, unlike many other countries, Turkey has neglected this issue for decades. Indeed, there is currently no active nuclear power plant in our country. Although various projects come to mind in this field, the focus of the debates in Turkey is undoubtedly the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, which is still under construction. While production is planned to begin at the end of this year with the loading of nuclear fuel into the first reactor, whose construction is nearing completion, and the first controlled chain reaction taking place, commercial electricity production from the plant is projected for the last quarter of 2027. So, does the project really satisfy our national development and nuclear longing? Let me try to answer this briefly and concisely.

Akkuyu, which consists of a total of 4 reactors each with a capacity of 1200 MW, is actually a unique project. Unfortunately, its uniqueness is not exactly in our favor. Because Akkuyu has a feature unprecedented in the history of nuclear power plants: it belongs to another country while being on the territory of a country! With the Intergovernmental Agreement signed in 2010, the ownership and control of the plant were given to another country, namely Russia. The plant is being built by Russia's world-renowned nuclear energy company Rosatom, and in accordance with the provisions of the said Agreement, the Russian side's share in the project cannot fall below 51%.

There are many details, from the technical dimension of the issue to its financing. However, I can only touch upon the basic information that I consider important here. Since no domestic partner emerged during the 16-year process, the Russians are bearing the entire construction cost of the plant. Since this project was granted strategic investment status in 2016, significant tax incentives have also been provided. In addition, the state has provided a purchase guarantee for half of the electricity to be produced here for 15 years at a figure (12.35 US cents+ / kWh) that is quite high compared to the current market price. This financing choice, which will bring a large financial burden to the public when production begins, is naturally criticized, but I think what is more important than this is the project's deficiency regarding technology transfer. That is, if the plant belonged to us and we could have gained capacity and moved up to the top league through nuclear technology transfer, the aforementioned financial obligations could have been overlooked. But unfortunately, this is not the reality.

Technology transfer refers to a country's ability to acquire a technology it did not previously possess after international cooperation, and to have the ability to build/produce it with national means. However, contrary to the world's international nuclear energy practice, there is no technology transfer here because everything from its operation to its ownership will belong to Russia. Our young people sent to Russia for training within the scope of the project will possess knowledge they could not acquire in Turkey, and this is of course positive. However, this personnel is being trained to work in certain parts of the plant and only on management processes. There is no accumulation of knowledge aimed at building and developing a plant from scratch because the operation of the plant, as emphasized, has been left to the Russian side in a Build-Own-Operate model. Moreover, it is alleged that privileges are granted to Russia regarding the port as well. In this sense, the use of Akkuyu in the same sentence as energy independence by politicians is a reflection of a contradictory situation! What should be is to be able to build and operate a nuclear power plant with our trained human capacity.

Since everything from fuel supply to waste management will remain under the control of a foreign country, namely Russia, external dependency will be reinforced. There is an even more dire aspect to the matter. The Rosatom company is also building a plant of the same type (VVER-1200) as Akkuyu in Egypt, and as it should be, the owner of this plant is the Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority. Moreover, the same company previously built the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran, and the control and operation of the plant passed to the Iranian side after the project was finished, as it should be. Thanks to this, Iran has moved up to the top league in nuclear technology. Furthermore, Rosatom recently reached an agreement with Kazakhstan under similar conditions for the Balkhash Plant. This capability that Egypt, Kazakhstan, and Iran have obtained/will obtain in the field of nuclear energy, that is, the ownership and operation of the plants by the respective countries, should have been ours too. Isn't that so?

In summary, Akkuyu will go down in history as the first nuclear power plant in Turkey, but one that does not belong to Turkey! A foreign country (Russia) will own a nuclear power plant on our Mediterranean coast. This is not a situation to be proud of. As it stands, leaving aside perception management, the Akkuyu project is one of the failed major projects of the AKP for the fundamental reason listed above. There is no aspect of Akkuyu that can be compared to the industrial facilities built in the history of the Republic that opened new horizons in our economy thanks to Turkish-Soviet cooperation. It should not be forgotten that Atatürk received technical and financial support from the Soviets to realize the ideal of industrialization, but the property of the enterprises established belonged to us. Our wish is to reach the technological level to build and operate a nuclear power plant with national means, as many different countries have succeeded on the path to development. The skill is not in leasing land, but in owning high-tech enterprises. It is our hope that our national nuclear longing will not be ignored in the future for our national interest, and our belief is that Turkey has the potential to demonstrate this success.