Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant License Extended (Photo : Getty Images)
Following the identification of a site for four nuclear reactors, Turkey will soon open bidding for construction of the country’s third nuclear plant in 2017. A former deputy energy minister of Turkey said at a weekend event held by the World Energy Council in Beijing that he expects Chinese firms to participate in the bidding.
China has gained a reputation in the international nuclear energy sector as a good builder of quality nuclear power plant, with the giant China National Nuclear Corp., leading the field with its Hualong One third-generation nuclear reactor design that CNNC is using in its Fujian and Gungxi projects.
Murat Mercan, the former energy official, said the project would be worth $22 billion to $25 billion. The four reactors would have a total installed capacity of 5,000 megawatts. The chairman of the council’s Turkish National Committee, Mercan named State Nuclear Power Technology Corp., one of the three nuclear giants in China, and Westinghouse Electric Corp. of U.S. as potential bidders, reported China Daily.
Although the bidding is open to all investors and companies globally, Mercan said that Chinese firms are very competitive with its price, safety and technology. He also cited the experience of Chinese companies in construction of nuclear power plants, particularly 3G nuclear reactors.
Chinese companies would also benefit from the completion of the CAP 1400 project in Shibao Bay, Shandong Province. In contrast, Rosaton State Nuclear Energy Corp. of Russia is constructing Turkey’s first nuclear power plant in Akkuyu, Turkey, at the southern province of Meeai. Rosaton expects the first unit to be ready by 2022.
The second nuclear plant is at the Black Sea Province of Sinop, already contracted to Mitsubishi Electric Corp. of Japan and EDF, a French power firm.
In late February, there were reports that Turkish negotiators had preliminary talks with China on the construction of the country’s third nuclear plant. Turkish deputy undersecretary of the Energy Ministry Sefa Sadik Aytekin confirmed the holding of a preliminary meeting, but no agreement was reached, reported Balkans.
