Türkiye has amended the lists of projects that must go through an environmental impact assessment, known in Turkish as ÇED (Çevresel Etki Değerlendirmesi), with changes covering thermal and nuclear power plants, transfers of water between river basins and works in river beds. The amendment was published in the Official Gazette (Resmî Gazete) on Saturday, 7 November, issue 33423, and took effect the same day, according to İstanbul Ticaret Gazetesi and Enerji Günlüğü.
The changes were made by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change to the annexes of the ÇED Regulation first published on 29 July 2022. The regulation has two main lists. Projects in Annex I (EK-1) need a full ÇED report, while projects in Annex II (EK-2) go through a preliminary review under selection and elimination criteria, Enerji Günlüğü and Müşavirler Kulübü reported.
Power plants and nuclear facilities
Under the revised Annex I, thermal power plants with a total thermal capacity of 300 megawatts thermal (MWt) or more need a full assessment. The same threshold applies to industrial facilities that produce gas, steam or hot water, all four outlets reported.
Building or decommissioning nuclear power plants and other nuclear facilities is also listed in Annex I. Research projects with a maximum continuous thermal load of no more than 1 kilowatt, aimed at producing or converting fissile and fertile material, are excluded, according to İstanbul Ticaret Gazetesi and Müşavirler Kulübü.
In Annex II, thermal power plants and similar industrial facilities of 20 MWt or more are now subject to the preliminary review.
Water transfers and river works
A new item in Annex I covers projects that move water from one river basin to another. Transfers of drinking water by pipeline are excluded, Enerji Günlüğü and İstanbul Ticaret Gazetesi reported.
In Annex II, projects involving works on 5 kilometres or more of the bed of a river that flows all year round are now listed for preliminary review.
The reports did not give the thresholds in the previous version of the regulation or an official reason for the changes. For Türkiye’s wider energy plans, see our report on the Milli Enerji 2040 vision.
Sources
- ÇED Yönetmeliği değişti: Enerji santralleri ve su projelerine yeni düzenleme (İstanbul Ticaret Gazetesi)
- ÇED Yönetmeliğinde değişiklik yürürlükte (Enerji Günlüğü)
- ÇED Yönetmeliğinde Değişiklik: Termik Santraller ve Su Aktarma Projeleri (Müşavirler Kulübü)
- ÇED Yönetmeliği değişti: Termik santraller, nükleer tesisler ve akarsular için yeni kurallar (Önce Memleket)
Photo: Rosatom Digital Press Office/АО «Аккую Нуклеар» / CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
