Türkiye discusses purchasing small-scale nuclear reactors from the US

The Turkish government and private sector are reportedly in talks with the US to purchase small-scale nuclear reactors to reduce their dependence on coal. “There is serious interest in nuclear as a substitute for coal-fired thermal power plants,” US State Department Senior Nuclear Energy Advisor Justin Friedman told Bloomberg. According to Friedman, there is scope to purchase up to 35 small-scale nuclear reactors to meet the 20 gigawatt electricity generation target of nuclear power by 2050. A purchase of this scale would require an investment of billions of dollars, and it is unclear how it would be financed if the purchases proceed. The Energy Ministry did not comment on the matter. The reactor talks with the US come as Russian state nuclear energy company Rosatom is nearing completion of its Akkuyu nuclear power plant. The government is also in talks with Rosatom for a second nuclear power plant in Sinop. Approximately 70 coal-fired thermal power plants in Turkey meet one-third of its energy needs. Turkey aims to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2053.