Saying Goodbye To Nuclear Power? We Don’t Think So!

Debate in Turkey with respect to utilizing nuclear energy is heating up, as the adverse consequences of the Japanese earthquake on the forty-year-old Fukushima power plant continue to unfold. Talk of a large-scale nuclear disaster triggered fear in Turkish society – among the Chernobyl-victim countries – amplifying the voices of opposition to nuclear energy within Turkey, which were in turn augmented by the popular U-turn of various European countries on nuclear energy.

The Turkish government is nevertheless maintaining a firm stance against objections, with the Prime Minister confirming the official policy of proceeding with Turkey's long-range plan to establish and operate a nuclear power plant (an "NPP"), first formulated in the early 1960s. Although several nuclear power tenders have been held, none have been successfully finalized. In order to overcome shortcomings under current legislation, the Turkish government has revamped its strategy on nuclear energy by