Turkey to have 23 nuclear units, minister saysISTANBUL- Hürriyet...

Turkey to have 23 nuclear units, minister says
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News


‘We want to meet our increasing energy needs by erecting at least 23 nuclear units by the year 2023,’ says Energy Minister Taner Yildiz at WEF’s Istanbul meeting. AA photo
Turkey is determined to build nuclear power plants, and will establish 23 nuclear units by 2023, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yildiz said yesterday at a panel discussion titled “The New Energy Corridor,” part of the World Economic Forum.

There are more than 440 nuclear power plants in the world, and while nuclear power plants involve risks, they also offer many opportunities, Anatolia news agency quoted Yildiz as saying.

“We are a country without a nuclear power plant. However, we are determined to have nuclear power plants. We want to meet our increasing energy needs by erecting at least 23 nuclear units by the year 2023. This implies building nuclear power plants in three regions of Turkey,” Yildiz said. At least half of all nuclear power plants are located in three countries, the United States, France and Japan, Yildiz said, adding that there was a relationship between a country’s development and its nuclear power plants.
“We can see that accidents, as in Fukushima, do not [negatively] affect decisions to have and operate nuclear power plants,” Yildiz said.