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Turkish president inaugurates 34 hydroelectric power plants

Turkish president inaugurates 34 hydroelectric power plants

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recently attended the opening ceremony of 34 hydroelectric power plants in Turkey, the construction of which was completed by the State Hydraulic Works (DSI).

These 34 hydroelectric power plants, in 20 provinces, will provide annual energy production capacity of 2.3 billion kWh. These plants, with an investment cost of TRY16 billion ($890.7 million), will provide an annual economic benefit of TRY2.7 billion ($150.3 million), DSI said. The hydroelectric power plants, which will pay for themselves in six years and will continue to provide added value to the country’s economy for many years.

“Thus, we have increased our hydroelectric generation capacity by 2.5 times in a short time, from 44 billion kilowatt hours to 110 billion kilowatt hours. Currently, one-third of our country’s total installed power is hydroelectric,” he said. “Our 34 hydroelectric power plants … will provide an annual economic benefit of 2.7 billion liras to our country.”

During his speech, Erdoğan stated that water resources — which are indispensable for life, health, development and a livable environment — prevent drought and poverty. Explaining that it is necessary to know the value of every drop of water, which is the source of life for all living things, Erdoğan said that one of the most important sources of energy is water.

“Moreover, fossil fuels cause many problems, from air pollution to global warming. Climate change debates increase the importance of renewable and clean energy resources,” Erdoğan said. “The most important opportunity of our country in domestic and renewable energy production is water resources. The structure of our geography gives us a serious problem in this regard. Electricity generation from water stands out with its feature that does not cause environmental pollution, does not reduce the amount of water used and does not deteriorate its quality.

The dams built for hydroelectric power plants bring many opportunities in addition to irrigation and fishing. For a country like Turkey with limited resources, the use of domestic money in critical development investments due to electricity generation from water is at least as important as other issues. When we came to the government, we started the hydroelectric investments mobilization with this understanding.”

In addition to the high-capacity hydroelectric power plants such as Deriner, Ermenek, Borcka, Batman and Obruk, Erdogan said the country’s highest dam, Yusufeli, is nearly complete.

At the opening ceremony of the 34 hydroelectric power plants, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Prof. Dr. Vahit Kirişci stated that water is of vital importance and constitutes one of the main inputs of all production processes.

Expressing that the country’s technical, economic and hydroelectric energy potential is 180 billion kWh per year, Kirişci said, “With the cooperation of DSI and the private sector, 60 percent of our hydroelectric energy potential has become usable so far. Today, we are adding new facilities to these facilities, which give a great impetus to the development of the country, under the auspices of their respective states. The installed power of 34 hydroelectric power plants located in 20 cities of our country is 653 megawatts, and their annual production is 2 billion 300 million kilowatts.”

Erdoğan stated that they are actively directing the private sector to the construction of hydroelectric power plants, as well as the General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works, the public institution responsible for these investments. The country took a historic step in 2003 by paving the way for private sector investments in this field in order to activate the hydroelectric potential faster.

With the newly inaugurated plants, Turkey now has 730 hydropower facilities. The country has a total of 930 dams, including those built to provide irrigation and drinking water.

Erdoğan also discussed status of the Silvan Project, which consists of eight dams and 23 irrigation facilities. “Silvan Dam, which is the main structure of the project and will be the second largest work of our country after Atatürk Dam, will soon catch water and it starts to produce energy. At the end of this year, light will be seen in the first tube of the Babakaya Tunnel,” he said.