Turkey - A geothermal success story: A retrospective and prospective assessment

• Published in: Geothermics 2022-05, Vol.101, p.102370, Article 102370
• Main Authors: Serpen, Umran, DiPippo, Ronald
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Combined flash-binary systems; Drilling; Efficiency; Enthalpy; Environmental impact; Financial incentives; Geothermal energy; Geothermal power; Geothermal resources; High temperature; Incentives; Turkey
• ISSN: 0375-6505; 1879-3576
• DOI: 10.1016/j.geothermics.2022.102370

•In 1974 an experimental 500 kW flash unit was installed at Kızıldere.•In 1984 the first commercial plant came online, a 17.4 MW (gross), 15.0 MW (net), at the same site.•Starting in 2006, installed capacity has grown exponentially, reaching nearly 1700 MW in 2021.•The geologic setting is mainly low-to-moderate temperature with a few high-temperature resources in the Menderes Massif.•Binary plants of similar design, albeit from various manufacturers, are the majority of the units.•Novel combined flash-binary plants are very effective in converting geothermal energy into electricity.•Challenges to further development include overcoming or eliminating interference between and among wells, often drilled on adjacent leaseholds by competing entities.•Another challenge is the variable cost of alternative means of generating electricity which affects the attractiveness of feed-in tariffs.•Environmental impacts of plants are generally minor and controllable, but public perception may yet pose a challenge to operations and further development. The history of geothermal development in Turkey is traced from 1968 when the first wells were drilled through 2021. It reveals the remarkable exponential growth in installed power capacity beginning in 2006. Most of the recent growth centers on the use of binary plants at resources with moderate temperature, but where the resources exhibit high enthalpy and high temperature, several novel combined flash-binary plants have set a standard for high efficiency. The growth has been stimulated by governmental policies aimed at providing incentives to developers that mitigate the inherent risk of exploration drilling. Several regions, all in the western section of the country, have been identified as commercial areas for development, and other areas to the east may prove to be effective for extending the geothermal prospects across the whole country. Turkey now ranks second in the world in terms of the number of geothermal power units, and fourth in installed power capacity. It is unlikely that the observed exponential growth of the last 15 years can be sustained, but as new areas become discovered, Turkey may yet continue increasing its standing among those countries of the world using geothermal resources for the generation of electricity.