Discussion Subject of the Week 10th - 14th of March

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Turkey launches nuclear energy project

Views For

From: http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2006/04/14/feature-03

14/04/2006
The government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has officially decided on Sinop as the location for an ambitious nuclear energy project meant to meet rising demand and achieve energy independence.

By Allan Cove for Southeast European Times in Istanbul

The Black Sea province of Sinop was chosen from among eight possible locations for the proposed nuclear facility.

Turkish Atomic Energy Agency (TAEK) President Oktay Cakiroglu confirmed on Wednesday (12 April) that the country's first nuclear plant will be built in the Black Sea province of Sinop. The facility is expected to help meet the country's energy demand over the next 15 years.
TAEK carefully studied the details about proposed locations, focusing on criteria such as sea temperature, climate, wind and general weather, Cakiroglu told a parliamentary commission. After eight possible locations were chosen, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan decided on Sinop, he said.
A100 MW pilot reactor will be constructed by 2009, followed by three power plants with a total capacity of 5,000 MW, expected to be in service by 2012. Turkey has uranium reserves totaling around 10,000 tonnes, according to the authorities -- enough to last 50 years.
Turks have been debating the pros and cons of building a nuclear power plant for almost 30 years. Previous governments tried to get such a project going three different times, but ended up shelving their plans in the face of opposition from environmental groups.
Environmentalists, as well as the opposition Republican Peoples' Party, have also objected to the Sinop project, citing its high price tag and security concerns. But Energy and Natural Resources Minister Hilmi Guler says authorities are determined to press ahead.
"The reactions concerning nuclear energy originate from the non-detailed examination of the issue. When the issue is explained in detail, the people will see that their reactions are baseless," Guler said.
The current commitment to build the plant stems from rising fuel prices and the desire for energy independence. According to Guler, Turkey must invest approximately $128 billion in energy infrastructure by 2020 to keep pace with rising demand and to move from dependence on foreign oil and natural gas.
He says Turkey's current energy needs amount to 88m tonnes of petrol, with 72 per cent of that amount currently being met by foreign suppliers.

From: http://www.isn.ethz.ch/news/sw/details.cfm?id=18239
Turkey needs a huge amount of energy investment to sustain its fast growing economy. Where this money come from is a big question. But the rising oil prices and dependency on foreign natural gas and oil has inflated the import numbers. In 2006, Turkey has paid 26 billion USDs for imported energy sources. In 2007, this number is expected to increase at least %5, around 1 billion USD.

So with basic math, one can easily deduct that in 5 years time, this money adds up to 5 billion dollars, which is more than enough to finance the cost of a 4500 MWs of nuclear plant construction.

Views Against

From: http://www.greenpeace.org/mediterranean/news/the-real-solutions-to-turkey-s

Greenpeace calls on government to act wisely and scrap nuclear plans
The real solutions to Turkey’s energy challenges are renewable energies like wind and solar, and prioritising energy efficiency.
February 17, 2006

Istanbul, Turkey — Energy Campaign Leader of Greenpeace Mediterranean, Paul Horsman, appealed today to the Turkish Government to learn from the mistakes and disasters of the West and scrap all plans to construct nuclear power plants.
Five years after former Prime Minister Ecevit announced he is ending the nuclear energy plans developed by former Energy Minister Cumhur Ersumer, the current Energy Minister Hilmi Guler appears once again to be caving in to the nuclear industry lobbies. Turkey plans for the fourth time in its history to construct three nuclear plants, this time by 2018.

“Industrialised nations are paying a bitter price for having set up hundreds of nuclear power plants, which pose a major threat to humankind. Western countries do not know what to do with their nuclear waste and they are wasting billions of dollars of tax payers’ money every year,” Horsman said, and added that “ Greenpeace has been working on nuclear issues since it was established in 1971, and nuclear tests have been banned in 1996. Existing nuclear reactors all over the world must be shut down. We believe that the end of the nuclear age heralds the beginning of peaceful energies like solar and wind”.

Hilal Atici, Energy and Climate Campaigner of Greenpeace Mediterranean, said that “The planned nuclear capacity will never cover more than 5% of the Turkish energy demand in the future. It’s only result will be leading the Turkish people to a dead-end of outdated, dangerous and expensive technologies. Nuclear power presents tremendous risks such as hazardous accidents, the routine releases of radioactive discharges and the creation of radioactive waste, for which there is no environmentally acceptable form of disposal. It is expensive and inflexible, and costs billions to build, decommission and clean-up even a single power station.”
“Should the investment go to renewable energy technologies such as Wind and Solar power, Turkey could deliver five times the employment and twice the energy generation that nuclear energy could provide. Moreover, these renewable technologies coupled with energy efficiency programmes, offer true energy independence, and for example cannot be threatened by terrorist attacks, nor do they have negative environmental impacts. While the most progressive countries invest in renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies and while abandoning nuclear, the nuclear lobby tries to take Turkey back to the ancient ages,” Atici said. “Nuclear power should be left in the dustbin of failed 20th century technologies; new modern renewable technologies are the vision of this 21st century. We are worried whether it would be the public to pay the billion dollars bills of an expensive technology such as nuclear. And how will they solve the waste problem since it has not been solved yet by any other countries. We require an explination from the Energy Minister.”