Türkiye is pressing ahead with critical projects in renewables and nuclear energy, according to Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, as the nation seeks to bolster energy independence and reduce its reliance on imports.

Türkiye plans to build at least three nuclear power plants: a four-reactor plant in Akkuyu in the Mediterranean region being built by Russian conglomerate Rosatom, a second one in the Black Sea province of Sinop and a third in the northwest region of Thrace.

The plants are envisaged to boast 15,000 megawatts (MW) of nuclear generation capacity.

"Our work on the Sinop and Thrace nuclear power plants, as well as small modular reactors (SMRs), is ongoing," Bayraktar told the Parliament’s Planning and Budget Commission on Monday.

Türkiye aims to complement conventional nuclear plants with up to 5,000 MW of SMRs to diversify its electricity production mix. Its current nuclear energy law does not directly refer to SMRs, so new legislation is needed.

Last month, Reuters reported that Türkiye was drafting a law to facilitate building SMRs.

These reactors, with a capacity of 300-400 MW, 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 in talks with the United States and China about building small modular reactors.

Bayraktar said the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, once fully operational, will supply 10% of Türkiye's electricity need, eliminating the need for 7 billion cubic meters of natural gas imports annually and preventing 35 million tons of carbon emissions.

Türkiye's energy import bill totaled about $70 billion last year, according to the minister.

"The significant impact of these high import figures on the trade deficit necessitates an increase in both domestic and international exploration and production efforts," he noted.

Domestic gas production

Türkiye's daily natural gas output has increased to 8 million cubic meters, meeting the needs of 3.5 million households, according to Bayraktar.

The floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) platform, which arrived in Türkiye in September and is scheduled to become operational in 2026, is expected to raise this figure to 20 million cubic meters, said the minister.

The platform will help Türkiye ramp up the production of gas the country found in the Black Sea over the past few years.

"We will be able to meet half of the residential gas demand domestically," Bayraktar noted.

Underground natural gas storage capacity, currently at 5.8 billion cubic meters, is projected to more than double to 12 billion cubic meters by 2028, allowing Türkiye to store over 20% of its annual gas needs, he added.

Türkiye has also been enhancing its gas import agreements to ensure supply security.

The liquefied natural gas (LNG) deal with Algeria has been extended until 2027, and the gas supply agreement with Azerbaijan has been renewed until 2030, said Bayraktar.

He underscored that Türkiye is conducting gas trade with 34 countries, including the United States, Qatar, Oman, and Nigeria.

"Besides neighboring countries like Bulgaria and Greece, we also export natural gas to non-border nations such as Hungary, Romania, Serbia, and North Macedonia," Bayraktar noted.

Renewable energy ambitions

Among others, Bayraktar also elaborated on Türkiye's renewable energy ambitions, saying that the clean energy-powered electricity production helped avoid gas imports worth approximately $11 billion in the past year alone.

He referred to the government's recently unveiled road map that is envisaged to help Türkiye quadruple its current wind and solar capacity to 120,000 MW by 2035.

"The total value of this significant investment initiative in electricity generation from renewable energy amounts to approximately $80 billion," he said.

Bayraktar also stated that they plan to invest approximately $28 billion in electricity transmission infrastructure by 2035 to ensure "supply security."

The government budget earmarked for 2025 envisages approximately TL 63 billion in spending for the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry.

Bayraktar also stated that Türkiye would soon unveil its road map for critical and strategic minerals.

"We plan to commence production in 2025 at one of the gold fields we are exploring in Niger," he added.