Turkey has made a final decision to build its first nuclear power plants in the Black Sea province of Sinop, the head of the Turkish state atomic power body TAEK said on Wednesday.

Sinop meets several criteria on climate, safety, transportation and has been picked among eight candidates, Okay Cakiroglu told deputies in parliament. The scheme will start with a small pilot reactor. "In the next three to three and a half years, we will build our nuclear reactor, producing 100 megawatts from uranium," he said.

Turkey eventually plans to build three power plants in Sinop with a total 5,000 MW capacity. Construction of the plants, which the government says will avoid a future power shortage, is expected to start in January 2007. An energy official had told Reuters in February that the government had decided to build its first nuclear power plant in Sinop.

Nuclear power is back in vogue as governments see atomic energy as a way of reducing their reliance on imported fuel and of meeting their Kyoto Protocol commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Nuclear power produces almost no carbon dioxide emissions, unlike fossil fuels.

Oil and natural gas imports, along with coal and hydroelectric power, supply most of Turkey`s energy needs. Cakiroglu said Turkey was estimated to have 9,000 tonnes of uranium reserves. He also said that nuclear power firm Westinghouse, controlled by Japan`s Toshiba, would give a briefing to Turkish officials on the nuclear power plants.

Previous efforts to build a nuclear power plant, stretching back 30 years, have failed due to cost and opposition from environmental groups. The government has a majority in parliament and is now confident it can push the scheme through.

Turkey, which is seeking European Union membership, straddles seismic faultlines and is highly prone to earthquakes. Sinop is located in the central stretch of Turkey`s lengthy Black Sea coast. Oil and natural gas imports, along with coal and hydro-electric power, account for most of Turkey`s current energy needs. But a recent natural gas spat between Russia and Ukraine, Turkey`s Black Sea northern neighbours, along with recent reductions in Iranian gas exports to Turkey due to cold weather, have highlighted Ankara`s vulnerability to external energy shocks.
(Planet Ark 13/04/2006)