انرژی های تجدید پذیر و توسعه پایدار در ترکیه

Achieving solutions to environmental problems that we face today requires long-term potential actions for sustainable development. In this regard, renewable energy resources appear to be the one of the most efficient and effective solutions. So clean, domestic and renewable energy is commonly accepted as the key for future life for Turkey. Turkey's geographical location has several advantages for extensive use of most of these renewable energy sources. Because of this and the fact that it has limited fossil fuel resources, a gradual shift from fossil fuels to renewables seems to be serious and the sole alternative for Turkey. This article presents a review of the present energy situation and sustainability, technical and economical potential of renewable energy sources and future policies for the energy sector in Turkey. Also, potential solutions to current environmental problems are identified along with renewable energy technologies. Throughout the paper several problems relating to renewable energy sources, environment and sustainable development are discussed from both current and future perspectives. The renewable energy potential of the country and their present use are evaluated here based on the available data. The present study shows that there is an important potential for renewables in Turkey.

Energy is considered a prime agent in the generation of wealth and also a significant factor in economic development. The importance of energy in economic development has been recognized almost universally, the historical data attest to a strong relationship between the availability of energy and economic activity. During the past two decades the risk and reality of environmental degradation have become more apparent. Growing evidence of environmental problems is due to a combination of several factors since the environmental impact of human activities has grown dramatically because of the sheer increase of world population, consumption, industrial activity, etc. Achieving solutions to environmental problems that we face today requires long-term potential actions for sustainable development. In this regard, renewable energy resources appear to be the one of the most efficient and effective solutions. That is why there is an intimate connection between renewable energy and sustainable development [1]. The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, agreed to in December 1997, marks an important turning point in efforts to promote the use of renewable energy worldwide. Since the original Framework Convention was signed at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, climate change has spurred many countries to step up their support of renewable energy. Even more ambitious efforts to promote renewables can be expected as a result of the Kyoto pact, which includes legally binding emissions limits for industrial countries, for the first time, specially identifies promotion of renewable energy as a key strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions [2]. Coal, oil, and natural gas are all fossil fuels that were formed millions or even hundreds of millions of years ago from decaying prehistoric plants and animals. Although fossil fuels are still being created today by underground heat and pressure, they are consumed much more rapidly than they are created. Fossil fuels are non-renewable, meaning that they draw on finite resources that will eventually dwindle, becoming too expensive or too environmentally damaging to retrieve. The search for new reserves of fossil fuels has already led to oil drilling along ocean coasts and other environmentally sensitive areas [3]. Sunlight can be used directly for heating and lighting residential and commercial buildings. The heat of the sun can be harnessed for hot water heating, solar cooling, and other commercial and industrial uses. The sun's heat can also be used to generate electricity, using a technology called solar thermal electric power. Sunlight can also be converted directly to electricity using photovoltaic solar cells. Many other forms of renewable energy are indirectly powered by the sun. For example, the sun's heat drives the winds which produce energy that is captured with wind turbines. Winds, in turn, cause ocean waves, producing energy that can be converted to electricity. Sunlight also causes plants to grow, the energy stored in those plants is known as biomass energy (wood, straw, dung, and other plant wastes). Biomass can be converted to liquid or gaseous fuels or burned to produce electricity [3]. Renewable energy resources (solar, hydroelectric, biomass, wind, ocean and geothermal energy) are inexhaustible and offer many environmental benefits over conventional energy sources. Each type of renewable energy also has its own special advantages that make it uniquely suited to certain applications. Almost none of them releases gaseous or liquid pollutants during operation. In their technological development, the renewables range from technologies that are well established and mature to those that need further research and development [3]. Turkey's geographic location has several advantages for extensive use of most of the renewable energy sources. It is on the humid and warm climatic belt which includes most of Europe, the near east and western Asia. A typical Mediterranean climate is predominant at most of its coastal areas, whereas the climate at the interior part between the mountains that are a part of the Alpine–Himalayan mountain belt is dry with typical steppe vegetation. This is mainly because the country is surrounded by seas at three sides: the Black Sea at the north, the Marmara sea and Aegean sea to the west and the Mediterranean sea to the south. The average rainfall nationwide is about 650 mm, but this average masks large variations, from about 250 mm in the central and Southeastern plateaus to as high as 2 500 mm in the Northeastern coastal plains and mountains. In the western and southern coastal zones, a subtropical Mediterranean climate predominates, with short, mild and wet winters and long, hot, and dry summers. Arid and semi-arid continental climates prevail in central regions where winter conditions are often extremely harsh, with frequent and heavy snowfall in the higher parts of the Anatolian Plain. On the Black Sea coast, winters are very wet and summers mild and humid. The average annual temperature varies between 18 to 20°C on the south coast, drops to 14 to 16°C on the west coast, and in central parts fluctuates between 4 to 18°C. Local micro-climates can vary widely from the regional averages because of the highly variable terrain and exposure to hot and cold winds [4]. Although Turkey has almost all kinds of energy resources, it is an energy importing country, since these resources are limited. More than half of the primary energy consumption in the country is met by imports and the share of imports continues to increase each year. Therefore, it seems that if the country wants to supply its demand by domestic resources (such as lignite, hard coal, oil and natural gas) to renewable energy resources must be realised in a reasonable time period [5]. The total renewable energy production and consumption of Turkey are equal to each other, varying between 9.3–10.8 million toe each for the 1988–1998 period (Table 1). Their share in total energy production varies average between 37–43% while in total consumption between 15–22% for the same period. Among the production of renewables, biomass that includes wood and dung, is the highest in 1988, reaching 7.8 million toe. The second highest is hydroelectric production which reached 3.5 million toe in 1998. The production of geothermal and solar energy is negligible compared with to biomass and hydroelectric power, varying from 71 to 354 thousand toe between 1988 and 1998 (see Table 1). On the other hand, Turkey's first wind farm was commissioned in 1998, and has a capacity of 1.5 MW. Capacity is likely to grow rapidly, as plans have been submitted for just under a further 600 MW of independent facilities of which 57 MW is at an advanced stage in negotiations. The majority of proposed projects are located in the Çeşme (İzmir) and Çanakkale [5].

The promise of renewable energy is that it offers a solution to many of the environmental and social problems associated with fossil and nuclear fuels. Whilst it appears to be technically possible to replace all fossil and nuclear fuels with renewable energy sources, on the basis of present and projected costs the energy supplied would be substantially more expensive than it is now. However, there is a strong argument that conventional fuels are currently underpriced because their prices do not include provision for their environmental effects. On the other hand, The CO2 emissions reduction potential of 6% will increase in the near future, because both heat pumps and power plants are becoming more efficient as a result of technology developments. While the efficiency of a fossil-fuelled boiler based on the higher heating value can never be higher than 100%, the theoretical attainable heat output of a space heating heat pump is about 14 times the energy input by electricity, in other words, the theoretical COP is 14. Today's actual COPs range from 2.5 to 4 with a few installations reaching 7, but further improvements are envisaged, increasing the emissions saving by heat pumps. An actual COP of 8 is anticipated within the next decade. Consequently heat pumps will become more attractive and take a larger share of the heating market [24]. Renewable energy resources and their utilisation in Turkey are intimately related to sustainable development. For the governments or societies to attain sustainable development, much effort should be devoted to utilising sustainable energy resources in terms of renewables. In addition, environmental concerns should be addressed. The following concluding remarks can be drawn from this study: • There are a number of environmental problems in the country that we face today. These problems span a continuously growing range of pollutants, hazards and ecosystem degradation over the country. • All government agencies and non-governmental agencies in the country must work together to utilise their renewable energy and choose the appropriate application for Turkey. • Development of advanced renewable energy technologies that serve as cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternatives to conventional energy generation systems. So, the governmental energy institutions and special sector agencies should recognise this opportunity. • Wind energy presents a considerable opportunity for our country to obtain a significant part of our future energy needs from this sustainable source. • Further develop projects aiming at sustainable management of natural resources and income generation in rural areas of the country that ensure the environmental impact assessment of sub-projects of the GAP, and minimise their adverse environmental impacts (e.g. erosion). • Sustainable development demands a sustainable supply of energy resources that, in the long term, is readily and sustainably available at reasonable cost in the country. • Increasing Turkey's population requires the definition and successful implementation of sustainable development in the country. • Sustainable development could only be achieved by provision of high quality, environmentally responsible energy on time, at a reasonable price. • Utilisation of heat pumps in industrial and domestic heating sectors should become widespread in the country through the financial support of the Turkish government. • In order to reduce CO2, SO2, and NO2 emissions from fossil fuels, energy utility owners and sectors should increase energy savings and efficiency in all power plants and fuel consuming engines and machines. In power plants, cogeneration systems should be used. • It was claimed that the Built Operate Transfer Model has been the best model for hydroelectric and geothermal energy investments, within the framework of current legal documents. • Studies for exploration of new coal fields should continue to sustainable development in the energy sector. Special importance should be given for the use of most proper burning technologies for Turkish lignites, to obtain a clean environment for the future of the country. • Due importance should be given to river type small hydroelectric power plants, and considering the energy need of the country, domestic manufacturing and installation of machinery and equipment of these plants should be encouraged.