An analysis of Turkish hydropower policy

Over the last decade, Turkish electricity demand has increased more than 8% per annum as a result of economic development. Being one of the renewable energy sources par excellence, non-exhaustible, non-polluting and economically more attractive than other renewable sources, hydropower has turned out to be an important contributor to the future energy mix of the country. This paper deals with hydropower policies to meet increasing electricity demand for sustainable energy development in Turkey. Turkey has a total gross hydropower potential of 433 TWh/year and 140 TWh/year of this capacity can be used economically, corresponding to the second largest economic potential in Europe. Currently only 35% of economic hydro potential of the country is utilized. After completion of hydropower plants under construction, this figure will increase to 49%. It is obvious that even after the construction of all projects there will still be a huge hydro potential in Turkey. Besides, Turkey is a poor country in terms of fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, coal and so on) and has no nuclear power plant in operation, which strengthens the role of hydro energy among other alternatives.