Renewable Energy 50 (2013) 456e463 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Renewable Energy journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/renene Overview of potential and utilization of renewable energy sources in Turkey E. Toklu* Department of Mechanical Engineering, Duzce University, Düzce, Turkey article info abstract Article history: The necessity of minimizing environmental impacts of energy use, particularly those with potentially Received 22 May 2012 worrisome global effects, is perhaps the greatest challenge resulting from the twentieth century’s energy Accepted 20 June 2012 advances. The renewable energy technologies of wind, biofuels, solar thermal and photovoltaics are Available online 9 August 2012 finally showing maturity and the ultimate promise of cost competitiveness. Turkey’s demand for energy and electricity is increasing rapidly and heavily dependent on expensive imported fossil energy resources Keywords: that place a big burden on the economy and environmental pollution is becoming an important concern Energy utilization in the country. With respect to global environmental issues, Turkey’s carbon dioxide emissions have Renewable energy Sustainable development grown along with its energy consumption. States have played a leading role in protecting the environ- Turkey ment by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. In this regard, renewable energy resources appear to be the one of the most efficient and effective solutions for clean and sustainable energy development in Turkey. This study shows that there is huge potential for renewable energy in Turkey, especially hydropower, biomass, geothermal, solar and wind. Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction the development of applications of, and the teaching about, renewable energies have increased markedly in recent years [5]. Energy is essential to economic and social development and Increasing emphasis in modern-day society is placed on the use of improved quality of life in all countries [1]. Much of the world’s renewable energy resources and improvements to the performance energy, however, is currently produced and consumed in ways that of the electricity generation system [6]. Renewable energy is could not be sustained if technology were to remain constant and if a sustainable and clean source of energy derived from nature. The overall quantities were to increase substantially [2]. The need to usage and development of renewable energy is flourishing because control atmospheric emissions of greenhouse and other gases and of shortages in fossil energy, impacts on the environment and substances will increasingly need to be based on efficiency in energy sustainable usage [7]. energy production, transmission, distribution and consumption in Alternative energy plays an elementary function in resolving the country [1]. Electricity supply infrastructures in many devel- environmental pollution and warming problems [7]. The environ- oping countries are being rapidly expanded as policy makers and mental issue has been rising in the worldwide scale such as global investors around the world increasingly recognize electricity’s warming by exhausting carbon dioxide [2]. The production of pivotal role in improving living standards and sustaining economic dangerous greenhouse gas emissions and consumption of world growth [1]. energy resources become a serious problem [5]. The problems with The World Energy Forum has predicted that fossil-based oil, coal energy supply and use are related not only to global warming but and gas reserves will be exhausted in less than another 10 decades also to such environmental concerns as air pollution, acid precipi- [2]. Fossil fuels account for over 79% of the primary energy tation, ozone depletion, forest destruction, and radioactive consumed in the world, and 57.7% of that amount is used in the substance emissions [2]. Human activities are mainly blamed for transport sector and are diminishing rapidly [3]. The exhaustion of the substantial discharge of CO2. Global discharge of CO2 related to natural resources and the accelerated demand of conventional human activities topped 2.8 billion tons in 2009 and is expected to energy have forced planners and policy makers to look for alternate reach 4.2 billion tons per year in 2030 [2]. To prevent these effects, sources. Renewable energy is energy derived from resources that some potential solutions have evolved including energy conserva- are regenerative, and do not deplete over time [4]. Concern about tion through improved energy efficiency, a reduction in fossil fuel use and an increase in environmentally friendly energy supplies [7]. Also, this gives rise in renewed interest in renewable energy * Tel.: þ90 380 5421100/4549. sources, alternative and abundant non conventional sources of E-mail address: [email protected]. energy such as photovoltaic, wind and fuel cells [4e6]. 0960-1481/$ e see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2012.06.035 E. Toklu / Renewable Energy 50 (2013) 456e463 457 There is a growing concern that long-run sustainable develop- consumption, but oil continued to lose market share for the 11th ment may be compromised unless measures are taken to achieve consecutive year. balance between economic, environmental and social outcomes. Global oil production increased by 2.2%, but did not match the Turkish energy policy has concentrated on market liberalization in rapid growth in consumption [2,3]. The gains in production were an effort to stimulate investment in response to increasing internal shared between OPEC and non-OPEC producers. OPEC production energy demand. Turkey’s new government has continued this cuts implemented late in 2008 were maintained throughout 2010, policy despite lower energy demand induced by the 2001 economic although relaxed production discipline and rising output not crisis. This paper provides an overview of the energy use, envi- subject to production allocations resulted in an increase of 2.5%. On ronmental pollution and renewable energy sources for both world the other hand, oil production outside OPEC grew by 1.8%, the and Turkey. largest increase since 2002. Growth was led by China the US, and Russia. Continued declines in Norway and the UK partly offset 2. Global population and energy consumption growth elsewhere [2,3]. Global crude runs increased by 2.4%. Non-OECD countries Population and income growth are the two most powerful accounted for 85% of the increase, and for the first time accounted driving forces behind the demand for energy. Since 1900 world for a majority of global throughput. Chinese throughput grew by population has more than quadrupled, real income has grown by 13.4%. Global refinery capacity utilization rose to 81.5%. Refining a factor of 25, and primary energy consumption by a factor of 22 capacity increased by 720,000 b/d last year, the slowest growth [2,3]. The next 20 years are likely to see continued global integration, since 2003. However, the aggregate growth figure hides net and rapid growth of low and medium income economies. Pop- reductions in the OECD markets of Europe, Japan, the US and ulation growth is trending down, but income growth is trending up. Canada [2]. After two consecutive declines, global oil trade grew by Over the last 20 years world population has increased by 1.6 billion 2.2%, with net Asia Pacific imports accounting for nearly 90% of the people, and it is projected to rise by 1.4 billion over the next 20 years growth. The growth in global trade was roughly split between [2]. The world’s real income has risen by 87% over the past 20 years crude and refined products, though crude still accounts for 70% of and it is likely to rise by 100% over the next 20 years. At the global global oil trade [2,3]. level, the most fundamental relationship in energy economics World natural gas consumption grew by 7.4%, the most rapid remains robust. It means that more people with more income means increase since 1984. Consumption growth was above average in all that the production and consumption of energy will rise [3]. regions except the Middle East. The US had the world’s largest Global energy consumption in 2010 rebounded strongly, driven increase in consumption, rising by 5.6% and to a new record high. by economic recovery. The growth in energy consumption was Russia and China also registered large increases. Consumption in broad-based, with mature OECD economies joining non-OECD other Asian countries also grew rapidly, led by a 21.5% increase in countries in growing at above average rates [3]. All forms of India. Global natural gas trade increased by a robust 10.1% in 2010. A energy grew strongly, with growth in fossil fuels suggesting that 22.6% increase in LNG shipments was driven by a 53.2% increase in global CO2 emissions from energy use grew at the fastest rate since Qatari shipments. Among LNG importers, the largest volumetric 1970 [2]. Energy price developments were mixed. Oil prices growth was in South Korea, the UK and Japan. LNG now accounts remained in the $70e80 range for much of the year before rising in for 30.5% of global gas trade. Pipeline shipments grew by 5.4%, led the fourth quarter. With the OPEC production cuts implemented in by growth in Russian exports [3]. 2008/09 still in place, average oil prices for the year as a whole were Coal consumption grew by 7.6% in 2010, the fastest global the second-highest on record. Natural gas prices grew strongly in growth since 2003. Coal now accounts for 29.6% of global energy the UK and in markets indexed to oil prices; but prices remained consumption, up from 25.6% 10 years ago. Chinese consumption weak in North America and in continental Europe. Coal prices grew by 10.1%; China last year consumed 48.2% of the world’s coal remained weak in Japan and North America, but rose strongly in and accounted for nearly two-thirds of global consumption growth.