Why don't we like solar energy?

Tunç Korun is the second generation boss of Form Group (Form Şirketler Grubu), which has specialized in productive use of energy since 1965.His group created a cooling system for hotels using seawater. He also focuses on heating homes using a system installed underground and, more recently, producing solar powered electricity.Korun has dedicated much of his energy to produce his own electricity by installing solar panels of 2 kwh to the roof of his own house. He is very right to do so in a country like Turkey where there is plenty of sunshine. However, the data he submits demonstrates how far behind Turkey is in this field.Germany, which does not even have one tenth of our sun, is the world leader in solar energy, having installed an 18,000 megawatt capacity. The runners-up include Spain, Japan, the U.S., Italy, China and France. As of the end of 2010, installed solar energy capacity in the world has reached 35,730 megawatts.According to International Energy Agency calculations, by 2020, solar energy capacity will be up to 390,000 megawatts.Looking at Turkey we see that installed power capacity is only 3 megawatts.In short, we have seriously missed a free energy source that nature has awarded us with only “one in 10,000” of the world’s installed power.In a conversation with Korun two and a half years ago, he said that the newly appointed Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yıldız was enthusiastic about “renewable energy including solar power.”Today, Korun is pessimistic about the policy the energy minister has adopted. “Yıldız has pushed aside renewable energy. One or two companies like us that defend solar energy were full of hope for two years but not now. We were saying that Turkey was dependent on foreign natural gas and now, dependency on nuclear energy is increasing. The resources we have in hand are being ignored,” he said.Compared to two years ago, the cost of producing electricity from the sun has decreased to 2,000 euros per kwh from 5,000 euros. This is good news.The bad news is the incentive payments the state grants for electricity production from the sun. According to Korun, this is a “negative incentive” because the $0.13 incentive per kwh the state has declared past January is below the present grid price. Consequently, it is obvious Ankara has a dim view on solar energy.At a time when governments focus more on “low carbon” economies and opt for all kinds of renewable energy, Turkey can take small steps forward only with the efforts of the private sector.The photovoltaic panel system that produces electricity from the sun developed by the Form Group has been installed in some buildings of major companies such as Arçelik, Migros, Özdilek, Toyota and Perfetti. Demand for the photovoltaic panel system is gradually increasing, Korun said, and companies favor this system because of prestige of obtaining a “green building” certificate.I have not quite heard that public buildings have had solar energy systems installed despite the fact that they should be the ones pioneering in this field.I wonder if Turkey’s Housing and Development Administration ever considers solar energy when it launches major projects within the context of “urban transformation” due to the risk of earthquakes.

Ukraine delegation invites Turkish companies for mega projects

Ukraine is calling on leading Turkish firms to take a share in the country’s giant projects, ranging from energy to construction initiatives worth approximately $15 billion, the top executive of a Turkish business council said yesterday.Turkish firms have been invited to collaborate on these projects as Turkey has already proved its capacity through its investments in Ukraine, according to Ruşen Çetin, chairman of Turkish-Ukrainian Business Council of Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK).The many energy, infrastructure and construction projects designed by Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych are likely to attract Turkish firms to form consortiums.The Ukrainian president will visit Turkey on Dec. 22 to meet Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodities Exchange (TOBB) and leading Turkish firms to finalize some of the projects, Çetin added.“Ukraine plans to construct a liquefied natural gas [LNG] terminal in one of the Black Sea ports of Ukraine in order to receive, store and re-gasify liquid natural gas,” said Vladyslav Kaskiv, head of the Ukrainian State Agency for Investment and National Projects of Ukraine (SAINPU) while also noting the possibility of delivering the gas to Ukrainian and European consumers.The project envisages the construction of a LNG terminal with a total capacity of 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year. The country aims to attract $9.5 million investment in biomass energy in the Kyiv region.There are also separate plans for businesses from the two countries to work together on sport facilities build in preparation for the Ukrainian Winter Olympic Games bid in 2022. The project, named “Olympic Hope 2020,” would take place in the valley of Borzhava, in the southern Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains. Residence blocks, hotels and winter sport facilities would be built on a plot of nearly 350,000 square meters of land.In addition, the Ukrainian “Clean City” project envisages the construction of 10 centers with a total capacity for household waste of up to 2 million tons per year, as well as the realization of the “Open World” initiative, which is designed to develop broadband network access for nearly 20,000 schools across Ukraine.Ukraine is also planning to spend 40 million euros on the construction of a 10-megawatt solar power plant and 150 million euros on the construction of a 100-megawatt wind farm. On average, 1 MW of power can supply electricity to as many as 300 U.S. households per year. According to TurkStat figures, the average person in Turkey consumes 540 kW of electricity in one year.“Turkish construction firms have nearly $20 billion in contracts in nearly 90 countries,” said Selçuk Tayfun, deputy secretary general of Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, noting that the Ukrainian construction projects of Turkish firms were worth $3.7 billion

November/22/2011

GE, Metcap invest in energy facilities

General Electric and Turkey’s Metcap have agreed to jointly build a natural gas-fired power plant in the northwestern province of Kırklareli, as well as a hybrid power plant based on natural gas, solar and wind power in the Central Anatolian province of Karaman.The Eurostar project to be built in the small village of Erikleryurdu in Kırklareli with a capacity of 878 megawatts will help generate power for Istanbul, supporting Turkey’s efforts to modernize its aging energy infrastructure and meet growing electricity requirements, said Kerem Metin, a deputy chairman in Metcap.“The capacity is slated to be increased in the future and connected to Istanbul grids and Bulgarian and Greek grids,” he said during a press meeting in Istanbul on Nov. 18. The Eurostar plant will consist of nine gas turbines, one stream turbine and one heat recovery stream generation unit.“Dervish,” the other joint project, will initially have a capacity of 570 megawatts, which is scheduled to be increased to up to 1.08 gigawatts in the future. The project will enable the power grid to efficiently utilize wind, solar and natural gas based electricity generation, said Celal Metin, Metcap’s chairman. Dervish will be completed in 2015, according to officials.“Turkey’s dependence on foreign energy comes second after China,” Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yıldız said during a meeting.The country’s energy needs will be doubled in 10 years’ time, he said.“We have to meet the demand and reduce our dependence on energy imports,” he said, noting that renewable energy sources had the potential to play an important role on that issue.