Türkiye aims to load the first nuclear fuel into the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant within the next few weeks and carry out the plant’s physical start-up, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Tuesday.
Speaking at the 16th Türkiye Energy Summit in Istanbul, Bayraktar said intensive testing was under way at the plant in Mersin province, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported. He said electricity from Akkuyu is expected to be used in the national grid from 2027. He did not give a specific date for the fuel loading.
Energy support and oil output
Bayraktar also gave figures on state support for energy bills. Electricity and natural gas support provided between 2021 and 2026 totalled about $75 billion, he said, and more than 600 billion lira has been set aside for energy support in the budget. He said about 250 billion lira of tax had been forgone on fuel through the eşel mobil (sliding-scale) fuel tax system. He added that support for household electricity and gas is planned to continue, along with support for domestic coal-fired power plants.
According to the minister, state oil company TPAO currently produces about 300,000 barrels of oil and gas a day. It aims to reach 550,000-600,000 barrels a day in 2028, with an eventual target of 1 million barrels.
Türkiye consumes 55-60 billion cubic metres of natural gas a year and sources it from 13 countries this year, Bayraktar said, adding that the country has also become a gas exporter.
Hormuz and the 2040 vision
Bayraktar said transits through the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the world’s oil passes, had stopped, and that daily tanker charter rates had risen from $30,000 to more than $1 million. Despite the major oil and supply crisis since February, Türkiye had faced no shortages, he said.
The minister said Türkiye’s National Energy 2040 Vision, with electrification at its centre, will be announced at Dolmabahçe in Istanbul on 5 November. He also said a target of 35% electrification by 2035 could be an important outcome of the COP31 climate conference in Antalya if agreement is reached.
Related: our guide to setting up electricity, water and internet in Türkiye and our cost of living in Türkiye 2026 overview. Readers interested in the region around the plant can read our guide to living in Mersin.
Sources
- Akkuyu Nükleer Güç Santrali’nde fiziksel deneme başlıyor! Bakan Bayraktar: Santrale önümüzdeki haftalarda nükleer yakıt yüklenmesi hedefleniyor (AA via Star)
- ‘Akkuyu’ya Önümüzdeki Haftalarda Yakıt Yükleyerek Devreye Almayı Hedefliyoruz’ (AA via Memurlar.Net)
Photo: Rosatom Digital Press Office/АО «Аккую Нуклеар» / CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
