Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 16 (2012) 618–633 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews jo urnal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser Utilization of renewable energies in Turkey’s agriculture ∗ Asiye Gül Bayrakcı , Günnur Koc¸ ar Ege University Solar Energy Institute, 35100 Bornova, Izmir, Turkey a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Article history: Agriculture is still the occupation of the majority of Turkish people, despite the share of industry and Received 18 May 2011 services rising constantly. In terms of agricultural lands, Turkey is also one of the largest countries in the Accepted 23 August 2011 world. Fruits and field crops make up for the most of vegetable products, wheat being the leading crop. Available online 5 October 2011 Turkey has a high trade surplus with the EU-27 (1.5 billion Euros in 2009) mainly due to exports of edible fruits and nuts, preparations of fruit and vegetables. Keywords: The aim of this study is to investigate the utility of renewable energies for agricultural activities. In this Agriculture in Turkey concept, solar energy, biomass energy, wind energy, geothermal energy and hydropower are discussed Solar energy by application examples performed in Turkey. In conclusion, proposals and recommendations are given Wind energy as alternative energy instead of fossil energy sources. Biomass energy Geothermal energy © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Hydropower Contents 1. Introduction . 619 2. Renewable energy use in agriculture . 621 2.1. Solar energy in agriculture . 622 2.1.1. Greenhouse heating/cooling by solar energy . 622 2.1.2. Food drying by solar energy . 623 2.1.3. Solarization . 625 2.1.4. Agricultural irrigation with solar energy . 625 2.2. Biomass energy in agriculture. 626 2.2.1. Bioethanol . 626 2.2.2. Biodiesel . 627 2.2.3. Biogas . 627 2.3. Geothermal energy in agriculture . 628 2.3.1. Use of geothermal energy to heat the soil in open fields . 629 2.3.2. Use of geothermal energy in barns . 629 2.3.3. Use of geothermal energy to dry agricultural products . 629 2.3.4. Use of geothermal energy in aquaculture . 629 2.3.5. Use of geothermal energy in soil improvement. 629 2.3.6. Use of geothermal energy in greenhouse . 629 2.4. Wind energy in agriculture. 629 2.4.1. Use of wind energy in greenhouse . 630 2.4.2. Irrigation by wind energy . 630 2.4.3. Grinding by wind energy . 630 2.5. Hydropower . 630 3. Conclusions . 631 References . 632 ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +90 232 311 12 38. E-mail address: g [email protected] (A.G. Bayrakcı). 1364-0321/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2011.08.027 A.G. Bayrakcı, G. Koc¸ ar / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 16 (2012) 618–633 619 1. Introduction 35 Turkey’s population is about 65 million and 24 million people 30 of this population are engaged in agriculture. About 55.6% of the country is arable land and 15% consists of forests. Amounts of cere- 25 als, vegetables, fruits, some animals and other products are given in Figs. 1–8 [1]. The cultivated land is around 28 million ha. Around 20 2009 18.4% of the cultivated land is irrigated. Vegetable products account 2010 for 76% of total agricultural production, then animal husbandry; 15 Million Tons meanwhile, forestry and fishing contribute a minimal amount [2]. Fig. 1 shows production amounts of cereals, vegetables and fruits 10 between years 2009 and 2010. Although clearly a little decrease is 5 seen, production rate is still important and efficient. As it can be seen from Fig. 2, between the years 2005 and 2008, 0 some agricultural products’ production rate has decreased. This can Cereals Vegetables Fruits be depended on climate change, seeds quality, farmers’ financial possibility and also agricultural production policies. Also, some of Fig. 1. Amounts of cereals, vegetables and fruits production between 2009 and 2010. them had a raise. Especially in sugar beet and corn production, year range, has risen. These products are important in food industry, and also in bioethanol production. In addition to this, Figs. 3 and 4 also 25000000 20000000 15000000 2005 2006 Tons 2007 10000000 2008 5000000 0 Wheat Sugar Beet Barley Potato Corn Coton Sunflower Rice Lentil Fig. 2. Amounts of some agricultural products between 2005 and 2008. 25000000 20000000 15000000 2010 Tons 2009 10000000 5000000 0 Wheat Sugar Beet Barley Potato Corn Coton Rice Fig. 3. Amounts of some agricultural products between 2009 and 2010. 620 A.G. Bayrakcı, G. Koc¸ ar / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 16 (2012) 618–633 90000 80000 70000 60000 2005 50000 2006 Tons 2007 40000 2008 30000 20000 10000 0 Safflower Canola Fig. 4. Amounts of safflower and canola production as energy crops between 2005 and 2008. show some agricultural amounts between the years 2005–2008 economically and to provide food requirement. Fig. 7 shows the and 2009–2010. broiler and layer hen amounts and Fig. 8 shows chicken egg As it can be seen from Figs. 2 and 3, wheat and sugar beet have amounts between years 2008 and 2009. the biggest share of these figures. Their production amounts have According to 2008 data, energy need for agricultural activities been increasing by the years. had been calculated to about 422 GWh. These agricultural activ- Safflower and canola, which are important as biodiesel’s raw ities, such as field irrigation, greenhouse/barn/house heating and material, have increased in 2008 by the development of biodiesel cooling, food drying, etc. need energy and fossil sources and are production and been getting popular in Turkey. Fig. 4 shows the mostly used to provide energy requirements. This situation.