Small hydropower for renewable energy and water efficiency in Turkey

Abstract

Because of social and economic development, the demand for energy and particularly for electricity is growing rapidly in Turkey. The main indigenous energy resources are hydro and lignite. Turkey has no big oil and gas reserves. Almost all oil natural gas (NG) and high quality coal are imported. It has a large potential for renewable energies. Hydroelectricity is well established as one of the principal energy-producing technologies around world, providing some 20 % of the world’s electricity. In the developing countries, the proportion rises to around 40-50%. The capacity of large hydroelectric schemes can be several times that of a conventional power station. They are highly efficient, reliable, and long lasting. Turkey has an abundant hydropower potential to be used for generation of electricity and must increase hydropower production in the near future. For these reasons, hydropower and especially small hydropower are emphasized as Turkey’s renewable energy sources. In this paper, to increase production of hydroelectric energy, some streams which are in the different basins in Turkey, have been analysed and some conclusions obtained from this study have been presented.