Energy security and nuclear power in Turkey for sustainable development

Abstract

Climate change and energy security is one of the most important issues facing the world today. Nuclear power can make an important contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions while delivering energy in the increasingly large quantities needed for global socioeconomic development. Nuclear power plants produce virtually no greenhouse gas emissions or air pollutants during their operation and only very low emissions over their entire life cycle. Turkey, with an increasing demand and consumption for electricity, is in need of finding a sustainable source for electricity production. The country has a huge current account deficit most of which results from its energy imports. Plans for nuclear power construction are a key aspect of the country's aim for sustainable economic growth. In Turkey building up a nuclear power plant has always been a hot topic for discussion at least for 40 years. Turkish government unfortunately, until the year 2013 had never achieved to finalize nuclear power plant projects due to economic reasons. In this paper we will examine the pros and cons of having nuclear power plants in Turkey mostly in terms of economic aspects considering economic and social costs as well as economic gains. In addition we will look at Turkey’s nuclear energy policies. We will also mention about environmental effects debates of the nuclear power plant in the country.