Turkey's nuclear energy policy: Perceptions, values and public acceptability

Turkey’s nuclear energy policy goes back to the 1950s when the Turkish Atomic Agency was established in 1956. The country, however, has not, to date, constructed any nuclear power stations (NPP), but now plans to build three NPPs in the Akkuyu, Sinop and Igneada regions by 2030. As nuclear energy comes with both benefits and risks, Turkey’s nuclear energy policy has divided the public into two, essentially opposing, groups: supporters and opponents. They both have strong and reasonable arguments, which makes nuclear energy a controversial topic. While supporters state that NPPs are cheap, environmentally friendly and reliable energy sources, opponents disagree and claim that NPPs are costly, eco-unfriendly and unsafe. This research aims to develop a broader perspective that explains how the public perceive the advantages and disadvantages of NPPs. It concludes that the acceptability of NPPs is a highly subjective judgement, which means the approach to NPPs depends mainly on the values that shape how people perceive their advantages and disadvantages.