The Akkuyu NPP being built in Türkiye by Rosatom is to have an automatic water control system that will be discharged to the Mediterranean Sea after cooling the turbine condensers. This will reflect the changed requirements of Turkish legislation and make the project more environmentally friendly.
The additional system will remotely track the purity and flow rate of the discharged water, suspended dry matter, dissolved oxygen, acid-base properties, chemical oxygen demand, temperature, conductivity, and other key indicators. It will operate at the station site throughout the life cycle of the plant.
“The Akkuyu NPP project is being implemented in accordance with high environmental standards and principles of sustainable development,” said Sergey Butskikh, General Director of project company Akkuyu Nukleer. “All environmental parameters are systematically monitored at the site and in the region of the NPP construction site: soil, air, flora, fauna and, of course, sea water.”
He added: “For us, this is not just a duty to comply with legal requirements, but part of the project’s philosophy. All employees of the station will live with their families in this region, and each of them is aware of their personal responsibility for the state of the natural environment. On the eve of World Environment Day, it is especially important for us to emphasise that the ecological balance of the marine environment in the area of the plant will be preserved at all stages of the Akkuyu NPP project.”
Akkuyu NPP will eventually host four Russian-designed VVER-1200 reactors. The pouring of first concrete for unit 1 took place in April 2018, for unit 2 in June 2020, for unit 3 in March 2021, and for unit 4 in July 2022. Rosatom is constructing the reactors according to a build-own-operate model. Unit 1 is expected to begin operation in 2025. In July 2024 Akkuyu NPP reported that some 70% of the equipment and systems installed at unit 1 had already undergone commissioning.
