{"id":56534,"date":"2012-09-04T21:58:49","date_gmt":"2012-09-04T18:58:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/?p=56534"},"modified":"2023-04-06T09:35:16","modified_gmt":"2023-04-06T06:35:16","slug":"new-energy-between-cold-war-foes-turkey-russia-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/2012\/09\/04\/new-energy-between-cold-war-foes-turkey-russia-2\/","title":{"rendered":"New energy between Cold War foes Turkey, Russia"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>By Jacob Resneck &#8211; Special to The Washington Times<\/p>\n<p>The skyline of Istanbul, Turkey\u2019s largest city, rises above the Bosporus. (AP &#8230; more\u00a0&gt;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div id=\"pmad-lt1\">\n<div>\n<div>Ads by Google<\/div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>comdirect Girokonto +50\u20acAktivit\u00e4tspr\u00e4mie. Ohne Mindest- Geldeingang. Girokonto er\u00f6ffnen! www.comdirect.de\/Girokonto<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<h5>Story Topics<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>Environment<\/li>\n<li>Turkey<\/li>\n<li>Russia<\/li>\n<li>Foreign Policy Studies In Istanbul<\/li>\n<li>Sinan Ulgen<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>AKKUYU, Turkey \u2014 Russia and Turkey, which were Cold War adversaries, are finding common ground on energy despite ongoing diplomatic disputes.<\/p>\n<p>Turkey has agreed to allow Russia\u2019s South Stream gas pipeline to cross its territorial waters, and Russia is investing $20 billion to construct Turkey\u2019s first nuclear power plant.<\/p>\n<p>The deals have been made even while Turkey criticizes Russian support for Syrian President Bashar Assad and Moscow fumes over a NATO early-warning radar system in Turkey.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese are countries that have been able to compartmentalize their differences,\u201d said former Turkish diplomat Sinan Ulgen, chairman of the Center for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies in Istanbul (EDAM).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt has been a relationship driven by mutual economic gain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gas- and oil-producing giant Russia has enlisted Turkish support for its proposed South Stream pipeline to diversify its access points to European markets.<\/p>\n<p>One of the world\u2019s fastest-growing economies, Turkey has significant energy needs. The majority Muslim nation\u2019s energy demands will double by 2023, according to one projection.<\/p>\n<p>But Turkey cannot do it alone and has sought international partners to build, own and operate a nuclear plant.<\/p>\n<p>Only Russia has come forward and is constructing the Akkuyu nuclear power plant on the Mediterranean coast near the southern city of Mersin. The plant\u2019s design calls for four 1,200-megawatt reactors scheduled to go on line in 2019.<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"pagebreak\"><\/a>The $20 billion venture will be wholly financed by a subsidiary of Rosatom, Russia\u2019s state-controlled nuclear energy corporation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Unprecedented cooperation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Russian firm has agreed to build, own and operate the plant for its entire productive life, with spent fuel sent to Russia for reprocessing. The deal represents an unprecedented level of cooperation between the former adversaries.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are the nearest neighbors with Turkey, and we should trust each other,\u201d said Rauf Kasumov, a spokesman for Akkuyu NGS, the Russian company that will own and operate the plant. \u201cLogically, Turkey needs that. It\u2019s one of the fastest-growing economies of the world, and they need it badly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Questions linger about what would become of the core waste leftover from the plant, a perennial controversy whenever a reactor is to be built.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is a decision to be done later between the Turkish republic and the Russian Federation,\u201d Mr. Kasumov said.<\/p>\n<p>Under terms of the agreement signed in 2010, decommissioning will be funded by a cent-and-a-half levy on each kilowatt hour sold over the plant\u2019s 60-year productive life span.<\/p>\n<p>Critics such as Erhan Kula, an economics professor of Bahcesehir University in Istanbul, say that relies on vague assumptions on what the long-term costs will be.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe most important thing [regarding] nuclear power is the decommissioning and storage of highly toxic waste,\u201d Mr. Kula said. \u201cThere\u2019s just a couple of sentences in the environmental assessment report, which is mind-boggling.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Kula said the 4,800 megawatts produced by the four reactors would provide only about 5 percent of Turkey\u2019s energy needs and that the current grid is losing more than 14 percent to theft.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf we stop that, we don\u2019t need nuclear power,\u201d Mr. Kula said.<\/p>\n<p>However, A. Beril Tugrul, director of the Energy Institute at Istanbul Technical University, said Turkey\u2019s energy needs are rising, and nuclear power, with all its risks, is an essential alternative to burning fossil fuels.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think many of the problems [with decommissioning] can be solved \u2014 but maybe not,\u201d Ms. Tugrul said. \u201cBut it\u2019s not just nuclear power that has problems. All plants have huge problems with carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Even EDAM\u2019s study, which found that the agreement could work in Turkey\u2019s favor, cautions that Ankara has failed to lay the groundwork for proper oversight of atomic energy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTurkey is rushing toward nuclear power,\u201d Mr. Ulgen said. \u201cTurkey does not currently have the regulatory capacity to minimize the risks inherent in nuclear power.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Officials at the Turkish Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Turks fear nuclear power<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Turkish officials have been eyeing the Akkuyu site since the 1970s, but it has been only in recent years that the project has taken shape.<\/p>\n<p>Nuclear power in Turkey has generated little debate, though the most exhaustive study conducted shows broad public skepticism.<\/p>\n<p>Memories of the 1986 Chernobyl meltdown in Ukraine, which irradiated parts of Turkey\u2019s Black Sea region, may help explain why 62.5 percent of the more than 2,400 people surveyed said they are opposed to nuclear power, making it the second-least popular choice after coal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf they listened to what people say, they shouldn\u2019t go nuclear. Turks are very scared of nuclear power,\u201d Mr. Kula said.<\/p>\n<p>The survey was conducted in 2007, and the Fukushima Daiichi disaster in Japan last year has further sullied nuclear power\u2019s reputation, he said.<\/p>\n<p>Organized opposition has been limited. The site is relatively undeveloped, but road access along the craggy cliffs that tower above the Mediterranean has been upgraded.<\/p>\n<p>This summer, a small tent encampment was erected in protest to raise awareness as grass-roots groups lodge legal challenges.<\/p>\n<p>Opposition groups \u2014 backed by the main opposition Republican People\u2019s Party (CHP) \u2014 argue that the site is crisscrossed by active earthquake fault lines. Court challenges have been lodged against the site plan, but the government has not stopped construction.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are going to both challenge the government and draw the public\u2019s attention through direct action,\u201d said Sabahat Aslan, one of the protest leaders at the encampment.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, another site on the Black Sea coast has been identified for a second plant, but the Turkish government has been unable to find an international partner willing to build it.<\/p>\n<p>Turkey has been in talks with China, Canada, South Korea and Japan to replicate a deal similar to Russia\u2018s.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Kasumov, the Akkuyu NGS representative, said it is unlikely that another country would be willing to invest as heavily as Russia has.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI really doubt that any other country would be in the position of financing the [build-own-operate] model. It\u2019s pretty expensive,\u201d he said.diplomat Sinan Ulgen, chairman of the Center for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies in Istanbul (EDAM).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt has been a relationship driven by mutual economic gain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Russian commitment to the project appears unshakable publicly, but the Turkish press has raised questions about Moscow\u2019s willingness to spend vast sums as cost projections rise.<\/p>\n<p>The project\u2019s future depends largely on the good will of the Russian government and its faith in Turkey as a strategic energy partner.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey really need to commit the $20 billion,\u201d said Mr. Ulgen of EDAM, \u201cand there is no clear penalty in the agreement if they don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Read more: New energy between Cold War foes Turkey, Russia &#8211; Washington Times https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/news\/2012\/sep\/3\/new-energy-between-cold-war-foes-turkey-russia\/#pagebreak#ixzz25WnBI5Nn<br \/>\nFollow us: @washtimes on Twitter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Jacob Resneck &#8211; Special to The Washington Times The skyline of Istanbul, Turkey\u2019s largest city, rises above the Bosporus. (AP &#8230; more\u00a0&gt; Ads by Google comdirect Girokonto +50\u20acAktivit\u00e4tspr\u00e4mie. Ohne Mindest- Geldeingang. Girokonto er\u00f6ffnen! www.comdirect.de\/Girokonto Story Topics Environment Turkey Russia Foreign Policy Studies In Istanbul Sinan Ulgen AKKUYU, Turkey \u2014 Russia and Turkey, which were [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":38128,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[4340,6347],"class_list":["post-56534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-russia","tag-akkuyu","tag-edam"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56534"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56534\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}