Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Ocak 19, 2009 00:003dk okuma
ISTANBUL - The envelope containing the only bid Turkey received for the construction and management of its first nuclear power plant will be opened today.
A consortium, led by Russia’s state-run Atomstroyexport together with Inter RAO and Turkish Park Teknik, was the sole bidder in the tender to build and operate the country's first nuclear power plant in Mersin’s Akkuyu district last Sept. 24. The Turkish Atomic Energy Agency, or TAEK, finalized the technical assessment process in the nuclear tender process and approved the sole bidder’s proposal as meeting the required criteria in late December.
After the bid is opened at the Energy Ministry, Turkey's state-run power company, TETAŞ, will assess the submitted price and finalize the tender process. The final decision of TETAŞ will then be submitted to cabinet for approval.
If the consortium’s bid receives the final improvement, then it will build four units of the Russian VVER-1200 type pressurized water reactors that each generate 1,200 megawatts of electricity. So the nuclear plant is expected to generate nearly 4,800 megawatts of electricity per year, according to a report by daily Vatan yesterday. While the value of the bid is important, as the company that acquires the right to build the plant will have the right to operate it for 15 years, the price of electricity the firm will charge from the government is also important.
Difference of opinion
The tender was described as disappointing by many analysts given that a number of foreign and local companies had previously expressed interest but did not submit bids, making the Russian consortium the sole bidder.
And now, the topic of the construction and the operation of Turkey’s first nuclear power plant has caused the country’s energy industry to divide into two groups.
Some people are all for the project, due to the expectation that the nuclear plant will lower Turkey’s dependence on other countries. Others are against the process claiming there are serious shortfalls in the project.
"Turkey cannot afford to go on without nuclear energy," said Önder Karaduman, chairman of the Electricity Producers Association.
"Turkey is not rich enough to produce more than 50 percent of its electricity from natural gas, he said. "The electricity price in Turkey is hovering around 12 to 13 cents per kilowatt hour, any offer below this figure would considerably lower the average energy costs... I believe a price of around 8 cents would be quite suitable," he added.
"While there is a lot to do in terms of the compatibility with European Union standards, undertaking such a project, which includes a lot of question marks and deficiencies, with a single offer is totally wrong," said energy expert Necdet Pamir.
Criticizing the fact that the tender had been conducted with only a single bidder, Chamber of Electricity Engineers Chairman Musa Çeçen said, "I do not believe such a project can be implemented in this environment of crisis where industry faces a bottleneck due to declining demand."
Meanwhile, the government has plans to build three nuclear power plants with a capacity of 4,000 megawatts, with a 25 percent margin, as part of efforts to reduce a costly dependence on energy imports.