Nuclear Energy in Turkey, Do We Need It Indeed?

Two main events happened in 2007‟s forced Turkey to reconsider of nuclear power plant building which has been postponed in several occasions. On the one hand Turkey aware that energy dependency to another states causing the negative effects to its developing economy, on the other hand she should take into consideration the threat coming by the Iran‟s ongoing nuclear program. If Iran succeeds to produce a nuclear weapon, for Turkey the threat is indirect, and more tied to concerns about the balance of power and loss of relative status and influence in the region. With regard to the energy resources dependency to the other states, approximately 70 percent of Turkey's domestic oil and gas are bought from abroad, and Russia and Iran are its top suppliers. Our country's electricity demand tends to increase by a rapid average of 7.5%. Having been realized as 191.5 TWh in 2007, our electricity generation is expected by 2020 to reach 406 TWh with an annual increase of 5.96%. In order to meet the increasing demand for electricity, we need to at least double our existing installed power by 2020. To meet the need of Turkey for electricity in the near future, the projections indicate that it will be necessary to employ nuclear power for electricity production Construction of nuclear power plants is in progress. It seems determining the main target of Turkey‟s desire to deal with the nuclear technology is very important for USA and the western states. This study aims to point out that which main factor is dominant for Turkey‟s decision dealing with the nuclear technology, and foreseen Russian agreement.