Georgia Power interested in Turkey’s nuclear plant

This file photo shows new reactors at the Georgia Power plant in Waynesboro, Georgia. The firm shows interest in building nuclear power plants in Turkey. AP photo

U.S.-based Georgia Power is interested in joining Turkey’s nuclear power plant project, its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Paul Bowers said on June 8.

“Turkey wants to be independent in the energy arena. We can help them because we have been constructing nuclear power plants for the past 30 years,” Bowers told the Anatolia News Agency during his visit to Turkey with Georgia State Governor Nathan Deal. Bowers stressed that Georgia Power had expertise in ensuring that nuclear energy remains both safe and clean. Bowers and Deal are planning to meet with Turkey’s Economy Ministry during their visit to discuss their interest in the nuclear plant project.

“We have 104 nuclear reactors in the U.S. and 400 around the world. We ensure that our nuclear projects are in line with all safety standards. If there are any other recommendations or suggestions beyond this, we can of course take those on as well,” Bowers said.

The move comes as Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yıldız has announced that Turkey is determined to build nuclear power plants, and aims to establish 23 nuclear units by 2023. The country is in talks with Japan, South Korea, China and Canada for the second nuclear power plant to be constructed in the northern province of Sinop. Russia’s nuclear energy giant Rosatom has been awarded the contract to build Turkey’s first nuclear power plant in the southern province of Mersin. The plant with four reactors will cost around $20 billion and will be active for 60 years.

Deal, meanwhile, stressed that Turkey was a regional leader and that as far as he could tell the economy was very strong. When asked about the signing of a possible free trade agreement with the United States, Deal said that he hoped that this issue would be taken up by Washington as soon as possible. He noted that the slowdown in the signing of such an agreement was due to the current European debt crisis. (BEIRUT- Agence France-Presse)

Constitutional court rejects demand on annulment of law on nuke power plant agreement

The court rejected the demand by the main opposition Republican People's Party

The Constitutional Court rejected a demand on annulment of the law on ratification of agreement that was signed by Turkey and Russia on establishment of a nuclear power plant in Akkuyu town of the southern province of Mersin.

The court rejected the demand by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) on annulment of the first article of the law on ratification of the agreement between Turkish and Russian governments to construct and operate a nuclear power plant in Akkuyu. (Anotolia News Agency)

Iran to launch new nuclear plant project: state TV

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili attends the opening session of Iran's new parliament in Tehran on May 27, 2012. AFP Photo

Iran is to build a new nuclear power plant, alongside its sole existing one in the southern city of Bushehr, by early 2014, state television reported on Sunday, quoting the head of the country's Atomic Energy Organisation.

"Iran will build a 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant in Bushehr next year," the television quoted Fereydoon Abbasi Davani as saying. He was referring to the Iranian calendar year running from March 2013 to March 2014.

The Mehr news agency suggested the timeline could be longer, quoting Abbasi Davani as saying: "We will begin plans for a 1,000-megawatt plant in Bushehr next year." He said foreign contractors would be needed for its construction.

The Mehr and ISNA news agencies both reported another nuclear plant was also planned and could be built in coming years.

ISNA quoted Abbasi Davani as saying that designs for a 360-megawatt facility in Darkhovin, near Bushehr, "have been finished and we are reviewing it." The current Bushehr nuclear plant was started by German engineers in the 1970s, before Iran's Islamic revolution, and was completed by Russia, which continues to help keeping it running and provides fuel for it. Inauguarated in 2010, it is due to come fully on-line in November this year.

In addition, Iran has a research reactor operating in Tehran that is used to make medical isotopes for patients with cancer and other illnesses.

A new Bushehr plant would boost electricity production in Iran, which has some of the world's biggest reserves.

State television made its announcement in the wake of talks in Baghdad on Wednesday and Thursday between Iran and world powers that focused on Tehran's controversial nuclear programme.

Those talks almost collapsed because of the very different positions held by the two sides, but agreement was finally reached to hold another round in Moscow on June 18-19.

Iran insists its nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful and aimed at producing energy and medical isotopes.

The world powers -- the Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States -- suspect the programme could include work towards developing a nuclear weapons capability, and they have backed UN Security Council resolutions demanding Iran curb its activities. (TEHRAN - Agence France-Presse)

Competitors close in Sinop nuke plant race

Japan and China are being considered as contenders for the planned Sinop nuclear power plant project, along with Canada and South Korea, Energy Minister Taner Yıldız has said in an interview with Japanese Nikkei Business Daily.

Yıldız said Japan, China and South Korea were almost neck and neck in the race, but that each country had its own strengths and weaknesses in terms of what it could contribute to the nuclear plant project.

Japan’s strength, for example, is its technological efficiency, said Yıldız, adding that “Japan needs to speed up certain domestic regulations” following the tsunami disaster last year.

He said an agreement had been signed with China that the nuclear energy would be used for peaceful purposes and would not be used for military means or transferred to third parties.

“Japan and China have almost reached the same status [with regard to building the Sinop plant],” said Yıldız, who confirmed that the government planned to make its final decision soon.

South Korea had appeared to be a front-runner, but negotiations hit a dead-lock in 2010 when the Turkish government asked for a government guarantee from South Korea. Afterwards, Turkey turned to Japan’s Tokyo Electric (TEPCO) and Toshiba for the construction of the plant, but following the earthquake, TEPCO pulled out of the consortium. (Anatolia News Agency)