Turkey is a signatory of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and has signed and ratified the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), being one of the 44 listed countries needed to sign and ratify for the CTBT to enter into force.

In July 2000, the Turkish government decided to abandon a planned, but oft-delayed, $4 billion 1,300 MW nuclear power plant. Three international consortia (AECL of Canada, Westinghouse-Mitsubishi of the United States and Japan, and NPI of France and Germany) had submitted bids to build the plant, which would have been Turkey's first nuclear plant. The project was to have been turnkey and would have been located at Akkuyu, on the southern Mediterranean coast. Reportedly, the plant was cancelled for financial reasons, although there also had been opposition from environmental and anti-nuclear groups, as well as neighbouring countries like Greece.

In November 2004, Turkish Energy Minister Guler said that nuclear power plants with 4,500 MW of capacity would start operating in Turkey by 2012.

Early in 2006 the province of the port city of Sinop on the Black Sea was chosen to host a commercial nuclear power plant. This has the advantage of cooling water temperatures about five degrees below those at Akkuyu, allowing about 1% greater power output from any thermal unit. A 100 MWe demonstration plant is to be built there first, then 5,000 MWe of further plants to come into service from 2012. Some kind of public-private partnership is envisaged for construction and operation.

In August 2006 the government said it planned to have three nuclear power plants totalling 4,500 MWe operating by 2012-15 - a US$10.5 billion investment. Discussions have been under way with Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd regarding two 750 MWe CANDU units as an initial investment. These and the PWR type are apparently preferred. The first units would probably be built at Akkuyu, since the site is already licensed.

At the end of October 2006 a draft law concerning construction and operation of nuclear power plants and sale of their electricity was submitted to parliament. This provided for selection of bidders by the Turkish Atomic Energy Authority (TAEK) and sale of power under long term contracts.

Read the profile on Turkey from the Model Nuclear Inventory (pdf), produced by the Reaching Critical Will project of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.