Legislative developments in Turkey Turkish flag

General Legislation

Law Concerning the Construction and Operation of Nuclear Power Plants (2007)

The act was adopted by the Turkish Parliament on 9 November 2007 and signed by the President on 21 November 2007 . It is published in the Turkish Official Gazette No. 26707 of 21 November 2007 . The aim of the law is to provide, within the energy plan and policy, the procedures and principles for the construction and operation of nuclear power plants and the sale of energy generated from those plants (unofficial translation reproduced in Nuclear Law Bulletin No. 80).

The law sets up steps and deadlines for the realisation of the nuclear power plant project. Within one month following the coming into force of the law, the Turkish Atomic Energy Authority (TAEK) shall publish the criteria which constructing and operating enterprises will have to fulfil. Two months after the day on which the law comes into effect, a decree with the procedures and principles regarding, inter alia , the:

  • selection criteria of the competing enterprises;
  • site selection and licensing conditions;
  • incentives regarding the infrastructure;
  • duration of the selection;
  • fuel supply and generating capacity;
  • amount, duration and cost of the energy;

shall be issued by the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources with the approval of the Council of Ministers. Not later than a month after the publication of the regulation, the Turkish Electricity Trade and Contract Corporation (TETA S) shall call for tenders.

According to Section 5(4) of the law, the enterprise must obtain insurance for third party liability during the construction of the nuclear power plant for compensation of any damage. With respect of transport of nuclear fuel, radioactive material or radioactive waste and with regard to incidents that could occur at the nuclear installation, the 1960 Paris Convention on Nuclear Third Party Liability, its additional amendments and other national and international liability regimes shall apply.

The law provides that a public enterprise could also realise the nuclear installation, invest in similar projects abroad or participate in investments. For this purpose, the Council of Ministers can decide to establish a corporation, subject to private law, and entitled to establish, commission the establishment, operate and/or commission the operation and perform the sales of electricity. Private participation in the corporation will be permitted.

Regulations on criteria to be met by investors who will construct and operate nuclear power plants (2008)

Following the law concerning the construction and operation of nuclear power plants and the sale of energy of 21 November 2007, the Turkish Atomic Energy Authority (TAEK) published criteria with which construction and operating enterprises must comply. These criteria concern nuclear safety, licensing, reactor type, plant life-span, proven technology, fuel technology, localisation, operational record and electrical power.

The provision regarding nuclear safety stipulates that a nuclear power plant should have state-of-the-art technological features complying with international norms, especially the IAEA Safety Fundamentals and Safety Requirements. The criterion on localisation aims at reducing dependency from foreign vendors. The domestic share of construction, manufacture, fabrication and/or procurement of goods, equipment, components and/or services should in the long-term reach a share of 60%, for which the bidder is to submit a plan.

The text of the regulations is available in English on the website of TAEK at www.taek.gov.tr/olcutler/taekcriteria_final_211207.pdf .

Regulation on requirements according to Article 3(3) of the new law on the construction of nuclear power plants and the sale of energy (2008)

Also based on the law concerning the construction and operation of nuclear power plants and the sale of energy of 21 November 2007, the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources has published a regulation on the requirements to be met by the bidding companies, the selection process, land allocation, licence fee, infrastructure incentives, fuel supply, production capacity, volume of electricity to be purchased by the Turkish Electricity Trading and Contracting Company (TETAS) and the energy unit price. Following the adoption of this regulation, TETAS launched the tender process on 24 March 2008, inviting local and foreign companies to bid until 24 September 2008.

. Published in the Turkish Official Gazette No. 26821 on 19 March 2008.

 

Related links

Nuclear Legislation in OECD Countries: Turkey
Regulatory and Institutional Framework for Nuclear Activities
Each country profile in this valuable reference work provides a detailed review of a full range of nuclear law topics. These include: the general regulatory regime, including mining; radioactive substances and equipment; nuclear installations; trade in nuclear materials; radiation protection; radioactive waste management; non-proliferation and physical protection; transport; and nuclear third party liability. This profile was last updated in 1999.

Nuclear facts and figures for OECD countries
Number of nuclear units connected to the grid; Nuclear electricity generation (net TWh); Nuclear percentage of total electricity supply.

IEA energy statistics: Turkey
Data is available in the following areas: coal, oil and gas use; electricity production, supply and consumption; heat production, supply and consumption; and graphs of sectorial final consumption by source.

Related NEA publications

Nuclear Energy Data
Nuclear Energy Data is the NEA's annual compilation of essential statistics on electricity generation and nuclear power in OECD countries. The reader will have quick and easy reference to the status of and projected trends in total electricity generating capacity, nuclear generating capacity, and actual electricity production, as well as to supply and demand for nuclear fuel cycle services.

Last updated: 20 August 2008