PULSE of TURKEY No 21........................SUNDAY, JUNE 28th , 1998
TURKISH TECHNOLOGY FOR NUCLEAR ENERGY
Turkey is blessed with thorium for
nuclear fuel, but needs technology for it. Indigenous
technology is sought with external cooperation. 1998 starts big investment in nuclear
industry
in Turkey. Reactor safety is top priority. It is a matter of 15-20 reactors with 20,000 mw
installed capacity by 2030.
This year will be a turning point in Turkey’s energy investments, especially for nuclear energy, after years of negligence in this sector. TAEK (The Turkish Atomic Energy Corporation) seems to be one of the busiest government agencies as from this year.
Now that the preparations are being completed for contracting the Akkuyu reactor as a result of 30 years of efforts, TAEK is also preparing to make big investments to develop Turkish technology for nuclear reactors. It will spend TL1.1 trillion within three years for this purpose and another TL175 billion for preparing the nuclear fuel project. This second project aims at running the Turkish nuclear power plants on thorium, instead of uranium, in the new century because Turkey owns about three-quarters of the world’s thorium deposits. However, using thorium in nuclear power plants is not at all common in the world and Turkey may have to develop a new technology for it with some assistance from the advanced countries in this sector.
Another project involving a TL3.6 trillion investment by TAEK concerns building a nuclear enrichment installation and TL2130 billion of it will be foreign financing, reports an Ankara datelined AA (Anatolian News Agency) dispatch.
A high-level nuclear specialist gave the following information about these activities:
“No matter which nuclear technology you may choose today for a nuclear power plant – reactors using natural uranium, BWRs (Boiling Water Reactors), PWRs (Pressurized Water Reactors) or the MPM (Mixed Potential Model), they are all more productive and more economical than conventional power plants. While thermal power plants are paid 8 cents per kWh, it is 2.56 cents for nuclear energy. But when you deal with a nuclear power plant you should first make a multilateral analysis:
The selection of a nuclear power plant requires taking the right decision at the outset on these three points.
Compared to conventional power plants the nuclear ones are exceedingly environmental friendly, because conventional plants diffuse carbon dioxide, sulphur oxide and nitrogen derivatives. They cause acid rain and create the green house effect. Due to the gases released from thermal power plants worldwide today the atmosphere will be heated up an extra five degrees by the year 2010 and that will result in the thawing of ice and a rise in the sea level, causing coastal areas to flood.
None of the nuclear power plants diffuse these gases or cause acid rain or heating up of the atmosphere. Neither do they disseminate radiation. On the contrary, their radiation is far below the radiation that exists in Nature. They are entirely safe. That is why they build small zoos and grow various plants near nuclear power plants to satisfy environmentalists.
As for the security of nuclear power plants, there are two schools – those of the West and Russia. More truly, you cannot even regard the Russian one as a school. As Russia cherished both economic and military aims in nuclear power plants, they wanted to extract plutonium from the reactor to manufacture atom bombs and neglected the security aspects of nuclear power plants.
In the western school, on the other hand, the principle is to have these security measures and strictly enforce them.
Due to the nature of the capitalist system, a number of coal and oil cartels hide these realities from the public. They thus induce the people to anxiety concerning the environment and exploit their lack of knowledge about nuclear technology. That has also been going on in Turkey. The Chernobyl tragedy greatly increased these anxieties and made people over sensitive towards nuclear power plants.
Yet the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Nuclear Safety Convention, which took force on October 24th, 1996 and which Turkey ratified on March 8th, 1995, have such norms that they do not permit these reactors to have even one-thousandth of the yearly radiation that exists in Nature. So these nuclear power plants are exceedingly safe.”
The background of political will for nuclear energy
President Demirel has always been the staunchest advocate of energy investments in Turkey and nuclear energy always had a prominent place in these investments. But when he was toppled with a military takeover in March 1971 he was subjected to a defamatory campaign about wishing to be the “King of Dams” and all his energy investment projects were shelved, including the Akkuyu reactor. So, in a way, the story of nuclear energy in Turkey is Demirel’s story of his political career and survival.
A nuclear energy expert, as an insider of this power struggle, gave the following information:
“As for Turkey’s political will to have nuclear energy, Turkey attempted to have nuclear energy three times – at the end of 1969, in the mid-1970s and in the mid-80s. It failed in all three of these initiatives, because although our statesmen and bureaucrats were enthusiastic about it, they did not have the political will.
The report prepared by the Ministry of Energy and TEK (The Turkish Electricity Enterprise) in December 1992 alarmed the Government because it was a pessimistic report opposing nuclear energy.
In the light of this report, the then Prime Minister Demirel convened the Turkish High Council of Science and Technology and brought up this topic at the meeting as the second item on the agenda. With this initiative he gradually, step by step, secured the formation of the political will of the Government on this issue. Especially in 1995 and 1996 this matter was also brought up with Parliament during the budget debates and nuclear energy became the property of all political parties, right wing and left. The principle was adopted that passing into nuclear energy is a must. In other words, a positive political will about it appeared in Turkey also among the political parties.
On the basis of this will, TEAŢ (TEK’s successor, the Turkish Electricity Corporation) was commissioned to invite tenders for a nuclear power plant in Akkuyu. An engineering company was hired to prepare the feasibility report and the specifications for the tenders were drawn up on the basis of that report. In 1996 a team of five professors and specialists of nuclear energy scrutinised and updated this document. It was promulgated in the Official Gazette of 17 December 1996. On 15 October 1997 three consortiums took part in the tenders. TEAŢ is now examining their bids. It might take about a year to finalize this work. The result will be positive and this power plant will definitely be built.”
Experts also recommend the Government not to leave this investment to the initiative of TEAŢ, but handle it through the Ministry of Energy which is much better equipped and staffed than the Corporation. Of the three technologies proposed, Turkey should adopt the one that suits its conditions and raw materials the best, they urge.
According to a report presented to the Prime Minister’s Office back in 1983, the first nuclear power plant will be built with 25-30% indigenous components. With a gradual increase in this rate the fifth reactor will contain 93.5% local components. The specialist said, “Fifteen years ago South Korea’s conditions for nuclear energy were the same as ours now. Today they own 15 reactors operating with their own technology and five more are under construction. They built the first four with external contributions. Today they manufacture and develop their own nuclear power plants.”
Last January the Ministry of Energy presented a report to the Government urging it not to delay nuclear energy any more. Prof Emir Özbaţ complained that even though Turkey had been working for nuclear energy since 1968 it failed to finalize this work. “We must do whatever we can because Turkey is losing its credibility towards the companies which bid for this contract.Two suitable sites (Akkuyu and Silopi) have been picked for nuclear plants and surveys are going on for ten other locations. Before even constructing a single nuclear reactor we have established 30 new radiation warning stations.
If any danger appears we would not operate the reactors. They have to get separate licences from us for construction, quality control in production, fuel loading, tests and operation.The possibility of an explosion in the reactor is not any bigger than the moon’s crashing into the earth. Turkey is a member of the IAEA and the OECD’s Atomic Energy Agency. Their inspection teams were here last year."
He said that by the year 2010 they would build two or three nuclear plants with 2000 mw installed capacity and it would rise to 15-20 plants with 20,000 mw installed capacity by 2030.
Three consortiums compete also using political influences
The tenders have a one-year option. In other words, the Government has to conclude the tenders by October 15th, 1998. Even though it wanted to finish this matter by June the latest, the tough competition among the three consortiums resulted in a delay. The first consortium is the Canadian AECL and Japanese Mitsubishi and they propose natural uranium and heavy water technology for a 1339 mw reactor. The German-French consortium, KWU and Framatome and the American Westinghouse propose using enriched uranium and light water for 1482 mw and 1212 mw installed capacity reactors, respectively. According to an AA dispatch their prices vary between $2,393 million and $3,278.7 million.
As the winner of this contract will gain a great advantage for itself in Turkey’s future power plants too, the competition is getting tougher also involving diplomatic dimensions such as President Chirac’s initiatives during President Demirel’s State visit to Paris three months ago and other governments’ similar approaches to Turkish statesmen. uras@ada.net.tr.