Ufuk Senturk, President of the Geothermal Power Plant Investors Association, said, “Geothermal power plants, with a cost of approximately 3-3.5 million megawatt-hours, are the most costly power plant type after nuclear energy.”
Ufuk Senturk, President of the Geothermal Power Plant Investors Association (JESDER), stated that more geothermal energy should contribute to electricity generation in order to reduce Turkiye’s dependence on foreign energy. “If the Renewable Energy Resources Support Mechanism (YEKDEM) is at an investment grade level, 300 megawatts of geothermal energy can be put into use every year. There are areas with discovered reserves waiting for investment in the fields where all the power plants are located.”
Senturk, in his assessment to the AA correspondent, said that as of February 23, Turkiye’s geothermal power installed capacity had risen to 1691 megawatts.
Senturk stated that countries preferred domestic and sustainable energy sources in the last period when the energy crisis emerged after the Ukraine-Russia War, following the economic structures that slowed down with the global Kovid-19 epidemic. “Geothermal power plants, with a cost of approximately 3-3.5 million megawatt-hours, are the most costly type of power plant after nuclear energy. Reducing these costs as much as possible will cause a decrease in Turkiye’s energy imports in the medium and long term.”
Senturk reminded that with the developments in energy technologies, the usage areas of geothermal energy have also diversified.
Pointing out that geothermal energy, which is used for electricity generation, residential heating and greenhouse activities, contributes to employment, Senturk said:
“However, geothermal investments are quite costly when compared to other renewable energy investments. For example, the meter costs of wells to be used in residential heating and greenhouses are around 1000-1500 dollars. We expect the YEKDEM mechanism, which broke records in our industry, to be restored. In order to reduce Turkiye’s dependence on foreign energy, more geothermal energy should contribute to electricity generation. If YEKDEM is at an investment grade level, 300 megawatts of geothermal energy can be put into use every year, and there are areas with discovered reserves waiting for investment in the fields where all power plants are located.”
Stating that the preparation processes such as construction and financing in geothermal energy investments cover long periods, Senturk said that the installed power of the power plants, which are not yet operational, is around 25 megawatts.
Senturk pointed out that there may be a change in Turkiye’s geothermal diversity after the earthquakes described as “the disaster of the century”.
On the other hand, Senturk explained that the geothermal community did not withhold financial support to the earthquake region in this process, and said, “Cekler, Sanko, Karadeniz Holding and Kipas Holding personally participated in the rescue and soup kitchen activities in the region without hesitation, and they continue their activities in the region.”
Source: AA / Prepared by Irem Yildiz