Turkey's Renewable Energy Sources: Part 1. Historical Development

Abstract

Renewable energy is accepted as a key source for the future, not only for Turkey, but also for the world. Turkey has a considerably high level of renewable energy resources that can be a part of the total energy network in the country. The main objective in doing the present study is to investigate the historical development of Turkey's renewable energy sources given Turkey's energy-related studies during 1853–2002. The following resources were taken into consideration: hydro energy, solar energy, geothermal energy, wind energy, and biomass. The first small hydroelectric power plant (SHPP) with a capacity of 88 kW was installed in Tarsus-Adana, Turkey in 1902. In the period of the Republic of Turkey, the utilization of hydroelectric power was first initiated in 1929 with the establishment of the Visera power plant with a capacity of 1 MW in the city of Trabzon. In the early 1960s, solar energy was realized as an alternative energy in Turkey, and some curious researchers and dissertation students began to be interested in the solar energy matter. The first national congress on solar energy was performed in 1975 in Izmir, Turkey. The inventorial works and chemical analyses of the hot springs and mineral waters started in 1962, while the investigations on geothermal energy in the country gained speed in the 1970s. The first residential geothermal heat pump system (or ground-source heat pump system) was installed in a villa in Istanbul in 1998. Electricity generation through wind energy for general use was first realized at Cesme Altinyunus Resort Hotel (The Golden Dolphin Hotel) in Izmir, Turkey in 1986 with a 55 kW nominal wind energy capacity. In Turkey, much effort has been put into biogas research and development projects since the 1960s, while studies on energy forests began scientifically in 1980 with the Fourth Five-Year Development Plan. It is expected that this study will fill a considerably large gap since it is the first attempt towards reviewing these resources in terms of the history.