Canada / Turkey - New Nuclear Plant MOU Signed at World Energy Summit

Canadian nuclear technology firm Candu and Turkish state power generator EUAS have signed an Memorandum of Understanding on building a $20 billion (US) nuclear power plant on the Black Sea. Present at the signing were the Chinese company CNI 23 which is expected to build the plant in partnership with Candu and representatives of Canadian nuclear regulator CCC, a Turkish representative for Candu confirmed for AOL Energy.

The first step of the process is to conduct a feasibility study, and there is not yet an estimate for the size of the planned facility, the Turkish representative said.

Turkey currently imports roughly 70 percent of its energy and has identified $100 billion of necessary sector investments to keep its economic growth trajectory of 8-9 percent on track. At least ten percent of new generation will come from nuclear power, Turkish prime minister Recep Erdogan said in a message delivered to the World Energy Council's World Energy Leadership Summit meeting in Istanbul today.

The high-profile announcement of the international nuclear project comes at a time of change for the nuclear industry following 2011's Fukushima disaster. While as many as 60 nuclear projects are under construction globally, almost all of those are in China, India, Russia or Korea and plans for nuclear development in traditional European, North American or Japanese markets have slowed or reversed.

Global governance for the nuclear industry was a subject of early discussion at the World Energy Leaders' Summit, where participants said safety was a clear priority given the world's need for cost-effective, large-scale, secure nuclear energy supply.

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