Ankara and Beijing will finalize a deal on a new nuclear power plant in Türkiye “in a few months,” Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar told a Chinese broadcaster during his visit to the country.
Bayraktar told Chinese television CGTN on Wednesday that he hopes, after working tirelessly towards reaching a deal, that the intergovernmental agreement will be signed in a few months.
Collaboration between Türkiye and China in nuclear energy dates back to 2016, and since then negotiations have taken place to build nuclear reactors in Türkiye, one of which will be located in the Thrace region in the northwest of the country, which is considered a region with high power consumption rates.
Bayraktar said the “landmark project” will be finalized with the unknown company and China’s National Energy Administration (NEA).
Nuclear energy plays an important role in reaching Türkiye's 2053 net zero emission target. To this end, the country is planning to build nuclear power plants in two other locations after the first plant at Akkuyu, which is under construction in the Mediterranean province of Mersin.
Earlier this week, the Turkish energy minister was in Beijing for talks and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with China to cooperate on the energy transition.
-Türkiye faces 3 key issues - supply security, import dependency and climate change
Bayraktar considers three major issues that the country faces in tackling energy markets: security of supply, excessive import dependency, and climate change challenges.
He explained that security of supply is essential to meet the growing demand in the country, and much investment is welcomed in various sections of the energy supply chain to cope with this demand growth.
The second challenge of import dependency is poignant because the country imports almost 70% of its primary energy resources, and the country’s energy policy is actively addressing this issue by promoting local resources, particularly renewables.
The third challenge to mitigating climate change has been addressed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who set a target for the economy to become carbon neutral over the next three decades.
Bayraktar said that renewables are the key to addressing all of these issues, along with the addition of nuclear power to the energy mix. He also advised the use of gas as a transition fuel, investment in critical minerals, and new technologies for energy storage and hydrogen.
- 'Utmost importance for cooperation in field of energy with China'
The Turkish minister hailed China as a global leader in renewables, not only as the largest renewable equipment supplier but also as the largest renewable power generator.
He similarly lauded China as a partner with common understanding and goals in the development of energy, following constructive meetings with his Chinese counterpart Zhang Jianhua, the head of China's National Energy Administration, and his first ever meeting with the country’s Natural Resources Minister Wang Guanghua.
According to Bayraktar, the “solid plans for the future” include a framework agreement for cooperation in mining with the Ministry of Natural Resources of China and Bayraktar’s participation at the International Mining Conference in China in October.
-Strategic partnership welcomed
The energy minister advocated for partnerships with Chinese companies in the development of renewables.
With the country’s “huge renewables potential,” including solar, onshore and offshore wind, geothermal, biogas, and biomass, he welcomed investors to the country to help execute the 60 gigawatts of projects in the pipeline that are waiting to be implemented.
Türkiye recently announced “a very ambitious target of adding 5 gigawatts of wind and solar each and every year over the next 12 years,” he said.
Chinese companies already have a presence in Türkiye, some of whom have “a very strong supply chain and are strong content suppliers from China for photovoltaic panels and wind turbines.” Some Chinese enterprises are also involved in thermal power plants and power generation in the country.
Bakraktar added trade, culture, and tourism to the list of areas for bilateral cooperation between Türkiye and China, as well as collaboration in regions further afield like Africa and the Middle East.
By Handan Kazanci
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr
