First Akkuyu reactor planned to be commissioned in 2026: Minister

ISTANBUL

Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said the country aims to commission the first reactor of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant in 2026, acknowledging financing difficulties but noting that allowing up to 49 percent external financing could make the project more attractive.

The Akkuyu plant, which is currently under construction on the Mediterranean coast, with four 1,200-megawatt reactors totaling 4.8 gigawatts, is being built by Russia’s Rosatom.

Referring to the recently signed nuclear agreement with the U.S., Bayraktar said, “We made a broad agreement on the use of small modular reactors, conventional reactors, the peaceful use of nuclear, as well as the use of nuclear in medicine, agriculture, industry and the material sector.”

“We need to reach an installed power of 15,000 megawatts with a total of 12 reactors in Akkuyu, Sinop and Thrace. We need to reach 2050 with at least 5,000 megawatts from Small Modular Reactors,” he said.

Bayraktar emphasized that Türkiye’s energy demand will at least triple over the next 30 years.

The minister noted that after Türkiye began investing in infrastructure in 2016, natural gas purchases from the U.S. gradually started, and according to 2024 data, about 10 percent of the gas currently used in Türkiye comes as LNG shipped from the U.S.

“American LNG, especially after 2027, becomes one of our most competitive gas sources,” he noted.

Last month in New York, BOTAŞ, Türkiye's state-owned pipeline company, signed a 20-year LNG supply agreement with Mercuria, covering about 70 billion cubic meters, alongside a preliminary deal with Woodside Energy.

The Mercuria agreement U.S.-sourced LNG from 2026 to 2045.

Under the deal signed with Woodside, BOTAŞ would receive about 5.8 billion cubic meters of LNG over nine years beginning in 2030, largely from the Louisiana LNG Project.