Türkiye endorses declaration to triple nuclear energy capacity by 2050

Türkiye is among six new countries that joined the declaration to triple global nuclear energy capacity by 2050 at the COP29 U.N. Climate Change Conference in Baku, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar announced Wednesday.

With Türkiye’s inclusion, the total number of countries ratifying the declaration has reached 31, the minister said in a post on social media platform X.

“By 2050, we believe that we will contribute to the net zero emission target by commissioning 20,000 megawatts (MW) of nuclear-installed capacity,” he added.

Earlier on Wednesday, the World Nuclear Association said in a statement that six more countries endorsed the Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy.

El Salvador, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo and Nigeria are the other countries that joined the declaration.

“We warmly welcome these six new countries to the Coalition of the Ambitious. Today’s announcement highlights the essential role of nuclear energy in meeting the Paris Agreement goals cost-effectively and equitably,” Sama Bilbao y Leon, director general of the World Nuclear Association, said.

“Nuclear can now count on the world’s biggest banks to back the growth of the nuclear industry. Nuclear has attracted the interest and investment of the world’s largest and most advanced technology companies,” she said at the event in Baku.

“And nuclear has ever-increasing support from the public, who recognize that in nuclear they have an answer to their demands for energy security, reliable supply and prices, and a response to climate change.”

The historic “Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy” was signed at the U.N. Climate Summit COP28 in Dubai last year.

Other nations endorsing the declaration include Armenia, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czechia, Finland, France, Ghana, Hungary, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates (UAE), the U.K. and the U.S.

In line with the declaration, Türkiye has planned to construct two more nuclear plants, in addition to the country’s first at Akkuyu, which is under construction in the Mersin province on the Mediterranean coast.

Bayraktar recently noted ongoing talks for the nuclear power plants planned to be built in the Black Sea province of Sinop and the Thrace region.

In addition to the nuclear plants, Türkiye aims to complement conventional nuclear plants by constructing small modular reactors (SMRs) to diversify its electricity production mix. These reactors, with a 300-400 MW capacity, are seen as a more cost-effective and space-efficient alternative to conventional nuclear plants, allowing them to be built closer to consumption centers and at lower costs.

Türkiye has been looking to embrace nuclear power as part of its renewable energy push, seeking to integrate cleaner resources into its energy mix.

It has also ramped up goals on expanding wind and solar capacity to 120,000 megawatts by 2035.