With the rise of geothermal energy companies, Turkey’s renewable energy capacity increased by 1.5 GWe between 2009 and 2019, placing it fourth in the globe behind the Philippines, Indonesia, and the United States, Think Geoenergy reported.
The UNESCO Science Report, which examines how development goals have aligned over the last five years, finds that nations of all economic levels are prioritizing their digitization and “green” economies at the same time.
Turkey is expanding its electricity production, according to the research, in order to lessen its dependency on fossil fuel supplies from Eurasia and the Middle East. In the face of natural difficulties, hydroelectricity’s contribution stays consistent, pushing the government to resort to wind, solar, and geothermal supplies. Renewable energy sources raised their proportion of Turkey’s power generation from 3% to 8% between 2012 and 2018. Geothermal energy companies have played an important role in Turkey’s energy supply.
In less than a decade, Turkey became a geothermal energy role model, says Dr. Fusun Servin Tut Haklidir from Istanbul Bilgi University, Department of Energy Systems.
The number of geothermal energy companies in Turkey increased from three to 49 between 2009 and 2019. According to the Turkish Energy Market Regulatory Authority, this translates to a geothermal capacity of 1.5 GWe, putting Turkey fourth in the world for this statistic behind the United States, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has also contributed financially to the development of geothermal energy as part of Turkey’s decarbonization efforts.
Through consortia, Turkish geothermal power businesses have participated in the EU’s Horizon 2020 initiative. This has allowed them to communicate with technology suppliers and operational organizations around Europe. Geosmart and GeoPro are two of these large-scale, interdisciplinary initiatives. Zorlu Energy, a Turkish hydroelectric power firm, won around € 3.5 million from Horizon 2020 as a result of its involvement in six research projects.