Energy policy of Turkey

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The energy policy of Turkey is to secure national energy supply [1] and reduce imports, [2] as in the 2010s fossil fuel costs were [3] a large part of Turkey's import bill. [4] This includes using energy efficiently. However, as of 2019, little research has been done on the policies Turkey uses to reduce energy poverty, which also include some subsidies for home heating and electricity use. [5] The energy strategy includes "within the context of sustainable development, giving due consideration to environmental concerns all along the energy chain". [2] Turkey's energy policy has been criticized for not looking much beyond 2023, [6] not sufficiently involving the private sector, [7] and for being inconsistent with Turkey's climate policy. [8]

Contents

Security of supply

More renewable energy would reduce fossil fuel imports to Turkey Renewable energy reduces fossil fuel imports to Turkey.jpg
More renewable energy would reduce fossil fuel imports to Turkey

Turkey meets a quarter of its energy demand from national resources. [9] But, as of 2019, the country is almost 40% fossil fuel energy dependant on Russia. [10] In the 2010s fossil fuel imports were probably the biggest structural vulnerability of the country's economy: [4] they cost $41 billion in 2019, about a fifth of the total import bill, [11] and were a large part of the 2018 current account deficit [12] and debt problems.

To secure energy supply the government is building new gas pipelines, [4] and diversifying energy sources. As of 2020 there is a surplus of electricity generation capacity, [13] however the government aims at meeting the forecast increase in demand for electricity in Turkey by building the first nuclear power plant in Turkey and more solar, wind, hydro and coal-fired power plants. [14] As an oil and gas importer Turkey can increase security of supply by increasing the proportion of renewable electricity. [9] The International Energy Agency has suggested that Turkey implement a carbon market. [15] In the long term a carbon tax would reduce import dependency by speeding development of national solar and wind energy. [16]

Because government in Turkey is very centralised energy policy is a national policy. However at certain times of year the east generates excess electricity as it has most hydroelectricity in Turkey, but far less industry and population than the west. This was part of the cause of the nationwide blackout in 2015 and therefore policy includes improving electricity transmission. [17] As well as natural gas storage and regasification plants, [18] the government supports pumped-storage hydroelectricity. [19]

Energy efficiency

Despite the Energy Efficiency Law and target to reduce energy intensity by at least 20 percent between 2011 and 2023; between 2005 and 2015 Turkey's energy intensity increased by 7 percent. [15] According to one study if energy policy was changed, most importantly to remove fossil fuel subsidies, at least 20% of energy could be saved in 2020. [20] Energy Minister Fatih Dönmez said in 2019 that improvement of public buildings should take the lead and that efficiency improvements are an important source of jobs. [21]

Fossil fuel subsidies and taxes

In the 21st century fossil fuel subsidies are around 0.2% of GDP, [22] including US$1.6 billion annually between 2015 and 2017. [5] The energy minister Fatih Dönmez supports coal [23] [24] and most energy subsidies are to coal, [25] which has been strongly criticised by the OECD. [26] Capacity mechanism payments to coal-fired power stations in Turkey in 2019 totalled 720 million lira and to gas-fired power stations in Turkey 542 million lira. [27] As of 2018 the tax per unit energy on gasoline was higher than diesel, [28] despite diesel cars on average emitting more lung damaging NOx. [29] The price of residential gas and electricity is set by the government. [30]

Natural Gas oligopoly

The purpose of the capacity market for electricity is claimed to be to secure supply: however despite almost all natural gas being imported some gas-fired power plants received capacity payments in 2019 whereas some non-fossil firm power such as demand response could not. [31] State-owned BOTAŞ controls 80% of the natural gas market and thus the price, [32] and due to the many sources of supply in the region and liquefied natural gas from overseas [33] wholesale prices in USD are forecast to remain stable or decrease in the long-term. [34] [35] However the wholesale gas market is not as competitive as in the EU, as Turkey does not want to split up BOTAŞ or give other power companies in Turkey fair use of BOTAŞ’ pipelines, so has not joined ENTSO-G. [15] Turkey's long-term contracts with all its current suppliers –Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran– are due to expire in the 2020s. [4] Exploration for gas in the Eastern Mediterranean is subsidized [36] [25] and is a cause of geopolitical tension due to the Cyprus dispute. [37]

Coal subsidies

Free coal is distributed to the poor by the Ministry of Family and Social Policy. Free coal distributed to poor people by the Family and Social Policies Ministry of Turkey.JPG
Free coal is distributed to the poor by the Ministry of Family and Social Policy.

Coal in Turkey is heavily subsidized. [39] As of 2019 the government aims to keep the share of coal in the energy portfolio at around the same level in the medium to long term. [40] The place of coal in the government's energy policy was detailed in 2019 by the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA), Turkey's lobbying organisation. [41] Despite protests against coal power plants [42] Afşin-Elibistan C is being constructed by Turkey's state owned generator and Emba Hunutlu with Chinese finance. [43] Even in cities where natural gas is available the government supports poor households with free coal. [38]

Finance

Renewable energy increases industrial production in Turkey Renewable energy increases industrial production in Turkey.jpg
Renewable energy increases industrial production in Turkey
Renewable energy increases employment in Turkey Renewable energy increases employment in Turkey.jpg
Renewable energy increases employment in Turkey

As of 2018 for residential consumers ”high cost is the most important problem of Turkey’s energy system”. [44] Europe supports energy efficiency and renewable energy via the 1 billion euro Mid-size Sustainable Energy Financing Facility (MidSEFF). [15] Up to 150kWh per month free electricity is provided to 2 million poor families. [45] Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency said in 2019 that, because of its falling price, the focus should be on maximizing onshore wind power in Turkey. [46] The economics of coal power have been modelled [47] by Carbon Tracker and they calculate that by 2020, both new wind and solar power were cheaper than building new coal power plants; and they forecast that wind will become cheaper than existing coal plants in 2027, and solar in 2023. [48]

Politics

Without subsidies new and some existing coal power would be unprofitable, and it is claimed that path dependence, political influence, and distorted markets are what is keeping it going. [49] Although the coal industry and the government are said to have a close relationship, economic downturn and the falling cost of wind and solar may increase pressure on coal subsidies. [50] Future import of gas from Northern Iraq may depend on relationships with the KRG, the central government of Iraq and Rosneft. [51] Hydroelectric plants, especially new ones, are sometimes controversial in local, international and environmental politics. [52] The EU might be able to persuade Turkey to cooperate on climate change by supporting policies that reduce the country's external energy dependency in a sustainable manner. [15]

State energy companies include: Eti Mine, Turkish Coal Enterprises, Turkish Hard Coal Enterprises, the Electricity Generation Company, BOTAŞ and TEİAŞ - the electricity trading and transmission company. [53] The government holds a quarter of total installed electricity supply and often offers prices below market levels. [54]

Energy transition

Nuclear safety regulations and human resources could be improved [55] by cooperation with Euratom. [15] In 2018 a new regulator was set up and $0.15 per kWh of generated electricity will be set aside for waste management. [56]

A plan for solar power in Turkey beyond 2023 is needed [57] and amending regulations on rooftop solar panels has been suggested to simplify installation on existing buildings and mandate for new buildings. [58]

In an attempt to reduce fossil fuel imports local production of electric cars and establishing solar cell factories is supported. [59]

Health and environment

Retrofitting equipment for pollution control such as flue-gas desulfurization, at old lignite-fuelled plants such as Soma, [60] might not be financially possible, as they use outdated technology. [61] Data on SO2, NOx and particulate air pollution from each large plant is collected by government [62] but not published.

The energy policy aim of reducing imports (e.g. of gas) conflicts with the climate change policy aim of reducing emission of greenhouse gases as some local resources (e.g. lignite) emit a lot of CO
2
. According to Ümit Şahin, who teaches climate change at Sabancı University, Turkey must abandon fossil fuel completely and switch to 100% renewable energy by 2050. [63]

History

During the late 20th and early 21st centuries the country was very exposed to oil and gas price volatility. [64] However around the turn of the century many gas fired power plants were built, and BOTAŞ extended the national gas pipeline network to most of the urban population. [65] As Turkey has almost no natural gas of its own this increased import dependancy, particularly on Russian gas. [66] Therefore many more regasification plants and gas storage (such as the gas storage at Lake Tuz) were built in the early 21st century, thus ensuring a much longer buffer should the main international import pipelines be cut for any reason. However growth in Turkish electricity demand has often been overestimated. Although much energy infrastructure was privatised in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, as of 2020, energy remained highly state controlled. [64] The nuclear power debate has a long history, with the 2018 construction start at Akkuyu being the sixth major attempt to build a nuclear power plant since 1960. [67]

External resources

See also

Related Research Articles

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Solar power in Turkey Heat and electrical energy from the sun in the Eurasian country

Turkey is located in an advantageous position in the Middle East and Southeast Europe for solar energy. Solar potential is very high in Turkey, especially in the South Eastern Anatolia and Mediterranean provinces. Compared to the rest of the region, insolation values are higher and conditions for solar power generation are comparable to Spain. 7.5 TWh was generated in 2018 which was 2.5% of Turkey's electricity. Installed capacity was 5GW, with the Energy Ministry planning to have another 10GW installed in the 2020s. However solar power in Turkey could increase far more quickly if subsidies for coal were abolished and the auction system was improved.

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Energy in Turkey

Turkey consumes over 6 exajoules of primary energy per year, over 20 megawatt hours (MW/h) per person. 88% of energy is fossil fuels and the energy policy of Turkey includes reducing fossil fuel imports, which are over 20% of import costs and three quarters of the current account deficit. Greenhouse gas emissions by Turkey are about 6 tons/person year, which is more than the global average.

The Electricity Generation Company is the largest electric power company in Turkey. Owned by the government it produces and trades electricity throughout the country.

Electricity sector in Turkey

Each year about 300 TWh of electricity is used in Turkey, which is almost a fifth of the amount of primary energy in Turkey. As the electricity sector in Turkey burns a lot of local and imported coal the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions by Turkey is the country's coal-fired power stations, many of which are subsidized. Imports of gas, mostly for power stations in Turkey, is the main import cost for the economy of Turkey. However solar power in Turkey and wind power in Turkey are being increased and balanced by the country's existing hydropower.

Greenhouse gas emissions by Turkey Climate-changing gases from the Eurasian country

Greenhouse gas emissions by Turkey are the contributions within Turkey to the emission of greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide or hydrofluorocarbons. Turkey's human contributions to emissions can be segmented by sector, such as looking specifically at Turkey's power stations or transport. In addition, the natural and agricultural landscape of Turkey contribute to its national greenhouse gas emissions, with methane and N2O from agriculture more than offset by carbon dioxide trapped in forests, thus slightly reducing Turkey's overall emissions. Turkey's policies on energy, industry, and its explicit policies on climate change affect its level of emissions, and these policies are shaped by the relationship between emissions and economic activity. Finally, media, academic, and individual figures have provided commentary on Turkey's policies and levels of emissions.

Coal in Turkey Coal mining, power, industry, and its health and environmental problems in the Eurasian country

Coal supplied over a quarter of Turkey's primary energy from the 1990s to the 2010s. The heavily subsidised coal industry generates over a third of the country's electricity, causes a third of greenhouse gas emissions by Turkey and employs 38,000 people. Every year, thousands of people die prematurely from coal-related causes, the most common of which is local air pollution.

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