24 Nov (NucNet): Westinghouse Electric Company has signed an agreement with China’s State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation (SNPTC) and Electricity Generation Company (EÜAŞ), the largest electric power company in Turkey, to enter into “exclusive negotiations” to develop and construct a four-unit AP1000 nuclear power station in Turkey.
Westinghouse, part of the Toshiba group, said in a statement today that the project also covers all life cycle activities including operations, nuclear fuel, maintenance, engineering, plant services and decommissioning.
There are eight Westinghouse AP1000 units under construction worldwide: two each at the Vogtle and VC Summer sites in the US, and the Sanmen and Haiyang sites in China. In addition, shareholder agreements have been signed in the past few months for the development of AP1000 plants at the Moorside site in the UK and the Kozloduy site in Bulgaria.
SNPTC is the general contractor for the four AP1000 units being built in China.
Westinghouse president and chief executive officer Danny Roderick said the company is confident its partnership with SNPTC and the leadership SNPTC has demonstrated in China will provide “the greatest value” for Turkey.
In November 2013 the International Atomic Energy Agency said Turkey had made important progress in the development of its nuclear energy infrastructure, but needed to strengthen its nuclear regulatory body and develop a national plan for human resource development.
Turkey already has two nuclear station projects in development – the Akkuyu nuclear plant in cooperation with Russia’s Rosatom, and the Sinop nuclear plant with an Areva-Mitsubishi Heavy Industries joint venture.
According to the IAEA, Turkey is aiming to produce at least 10 percent of its electricity from nuclear power by 2023.
