Multiple criteria evaluation of current energy resources for Turkish manufacturing industry

Energy is the main component of natural resources of developing, as well as developed, countries like Turkey. Because of economic and social developments, the demand for energy, in general, has increased considerably in Turkey. Since Turkey is not an oil or natural gas (NG) producing country, the energy resource usage for energy consumption should be effective. The Turkish industrial sector comprises approximately 36% of Turkey’s primary energy consumption, and the manufacturing industry is the largest industrial sector. In this study, the focus was on the manufacturing industry as the major energy consuming sector in Turkey, and it was analyzed in terms of efficient use of energy resources. The most widely used energy resources in the Turkish manufacturing industry, namely fuel-oil, coal, electricity, LPG and NG were taken into account. Evaluation and selection of current energy resources in this selected industry can be viewed as a multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) problem, including human judgments, tangible and intangible criteria and priorities and trade offs between goals and criteria. The analytic network process (ANP), one of the MCDM methods, was used to evaluate the most suitable energy resources for the manufacturing industry in this study.     

Biomass-Based Combined Heat and Power Systems

This study aims to identify and evaluate the biomass utilization options and evaluate the sustainable biomass production for combined heat and power (CHP) in Turkey. The total biomass energy potential of Turkey is about 32 Mtoe. The amount of usable biomass potential of Turkey is approximately 17 Mtoe. Among the biomass energy sources, fuel wood seems to be one of the most interesting because its share of the total energy production of Turkey is high at 21%. The use of biofuels for CHP on a large scale is focused mainly on forest industry sites, where considerable quantities of biomass are available. Biomass available for energy can be converted to different types of final energy (e.g., electricity, heat), of these, the production of electricity appears to be particularly important. While CHP provides several environmental benefits by making use of waste heat and waste products, air pollution is a concern any time fossil fuels or biomass are burned.     

Sectoral energy consumption in Turkey

Turkey expects a very large growth in energy demand, especially for electricity and natural gas. Today, Turkey’s energy production meets nearly 48% of the total primary energy demand. Total primary energy demand will reach 98 Mtoe in 2001 and 308 Mtoe in 2020. Import of primary energy will reach 226 Mtoe and production of primary energy will increase 81 Mtoe in 2020. As seen, Turkey is an importer country for primary energy. Turkey’s indigenous energy sources are limited, and the country is heavily dependent on the import of primary energy from abroad. The growth of Turkey’s industry is giving rise to a substantial increase in energy demand. In this paper, the primary energy production and sectoral consumption in Turkey is investigated. Further, a sectoral energy demand projection in Turkey is given until 2020.     

Energy usage and cost in textile industry: A case study for Turkey

The Turkish textile industry holds a relatively important position in the world and thus plays a major role in Turkey's exports. Energy consumption is important for the textile industry in Turkey because it is the largest export sector. Energy usage in the textile industry in Turkey is inefficient, and energy consumption has been growing very rapidly due to population growth, rapid urbanization and industrial development. For future planning, it is important to know the current specific energy consumption (energy consumption/production) and the energy intensity (energy consumption/cost of energy) in order to estimate future energy consumption for the textile sector. In this study, a survey has been carried out to show energy consumption, energy cost and the relationship between the energy usage and textile production. The results of the energy survey have been presented in both figure and table form.     

Employment impacts of solar energy in Turkey

Solar energy is considered a key source for the future, not only for Turkey, also for all of the world. Therefore the development and usage of solar energy technologies are increasingly becoming vital for sustainable economic development. The main objective of this study is investigating the employment effects of solar energy industry in Turkey. Some independent reports and studies, which analyze the economic and employment impacts of solar energy industry in the world have been reviewed. A wide range of methods have been used in those studies in order to calculate and to predict the employment effects. Using the capacity targets of the photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar power (CSP) plants in the solar Roadmap of Turkey, the prediction of the direct and indirect employment impacts to Turkey's economy is possible. As a result, solar energy in Turkey would be the primary source of energy demand and would have a big employment effects on the economics. That can only be achieved with the support of governmental feed-in tariff policies of solar energy and by increasing research-development funds.     

Electricity restructuring in Turkey and the share of wind energy production

This paper presents the current status of Turkey's electricity power sector, efforts for introducing competition in the Turkey's power industry, and concerns with the restructuring in Turkey. Turkey include long-term high-cost agreements, low quality of power, and therefore restrictions for synchronization with UCTE network, increase in the reliance on imported natural gas, and the urgent need for highly qualified staff that would be capable of fast and reliable implementation of ongoing reforms in the electricity sector. The contribution of the exploiting wind energy potential in Turkey to reconstruction of Turkey electricity structure is investigated. The strong development of wind energy in Turkey is expected to continue in the coming years.     

Lignite-fired thermal power plants and SO2 pollution in Turkey

About 80% of the electric energy production in Turkey is provided by thermal power plants which use fossil fuels. Lignite, the most abundant domestic energy source, is consumed in most of these plants. Turkey has approximately 0.85% of the world's lignite reserves; however, the Turkish lignites have low calorific value and contain relatively higher amounts of ash, moisture, and sulfur. Nearly 80% of the lignite mined in Turkey is consumed in the thermal power plants since it is not appropriate for use in other types of industry and heating. In Turkey, 13 large-scale lignite-fired thermal power plants are responsible for a considerable amount of air pollution. Therefore, it is crucial to decide on the optimal place and technology for the future thermal power plants, and to equip the currently operating plants with newer technologies that will reduce amount of contaminants released into the air.In this study, the effects of the lignite-fired thermal power plants which have an important place in the energy politics in Turkey on the air pollution are investigated. We focused on SO₂ pollution and the regions in which the SO₂ emissions were concentrated and diffused. The pollutant diffusion areas were projected and mapped based on parameters such as wind data, isotherm curves, population density, and topographic features by using Geographical Information System (GIS) software, ArcView. The contribution of the thermal power plants to SO₂ pollution was also examined.     

Utilization of renewable energies in Turkey's agriculture

Agriculture is still the occupation of the majority of Turkish people, despite the share of industry and services rising constantly. In terms of agricultural lands, Turkey is also one of the largest countries in the world. Fruits and field crops make up for the most of vegetable products, wheat being the leading crop. 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.The aim of this study is to investigate the utility of renewable energies for agricultural activities. In this concept, solar energy, biomass energy, wind energy, geothermal energy and hydropower are discussed by application examples performed in Turkey. In conclusion, proposals and recommendations are given as alternative energy instead of fossil energy sources.     

Turkey's natural gas necessity,consumption and future perspectives

Turkey is an important candidate to be the “energy corridor” in the transmission of the abundant oil and natural gas resources of the Middle East and Middle Asia countries to the Western market. Furthermore, Turkey is planning to increase its oil and gas pipeline infrastructure to accommodate its increased energy consumption. Naturally, Turkish natural gas usage is projected to increase remarkably in coming years, with the prime consumers, expected to be industry and power plants. Energy demand of Turkey is growing by 8% annually, one of the highest rates in the world. In addition, natural gas consumption is the fastest growing primary energy source in Turkey. Gas sales started at 0.5 bcm (billion cubic meters), in 1987 and reached approximately 22 bcm in 2003. This article deals with energy policies and natural gas consumption of Turkey. Besides modernization of present lines and realization of capacity increase, new lines will also be needed. In this context, Turkey, due to its geographical location is, in an important position to vary European supply. Therefore, Turkey's role as a transitory area gains importance.     

On the wind energy in Turkey

Increase in negative effects of fossil fuels on the environment has forced many countries, including Turkey, to use renewable energy sources. Today, clean, domestic and renewable energy is commonly accepted as the key for future life, not only for Turkey but also for the world. As wind energy is an alternative clean energy source compared to the fossil fuels that pollute the atmosphere, systems that convert wind energy to electricity have developed rapidly. Turkey is an energy importing country, more than half of the energy requirement has been supplied by imports. Turkey's domestic fossil fuel resources are extremely limited. In addition, Turkey's geographical location has several advantages for extensive use of wind power. In this context, renewable energy resources appear to be one of the most efficient and effective solutions for sustainable energy development and environmental pollution prevention in Turkey. Since wind energy will be used more and more in the future, its current potential, usage, and assessment in Turkey is the focus of the present study. The paper not only presents a review of the potential and utilization of the wind power in Turkey but also provides some guidelines for policy makers.     

Sustainable energy production and consumption in Turkey: A review

In this century, energy has been the driving force of the global economy and it will, for sure, continue to be one of the most important element for the sustainable socio-economic development for the coming centuries. Therefore, energy producers and governors have a vital duty to provide enough energy in good quality continuously with low cost for the sustainable development. The subject of energy production and energy politics in Turkey generally comes at first privilege. Ahead of the 21st century, Turkish energy diplomacy started to affect the future course of Turkey’s relations with the Eurasian countries as well as the Western countries. This paper describes energy production and consumption strategies in Turkey and criticizes Turkish energy policies. If the present pattern of energy production and consumption in Turkey is maintained, there will be serious problems to meet future energy demands due to shortages of resources and low financial inputs, combined with the environmental care for the country. As a result, major components of Turkey’s strategy for sustainable development should include changing the present energy production and consumption patterns, expanding energy sources and the structure of power production, and creating an energy structure that is less or not at all risky to the environment.     

Turkey's natural gas policy

This article deals with natural gas policy of Turkey. Natural gas became important in the 1980s. In recent years, natural gas consumption has become the fastest growing primary energy source in Turkey. Natural gas becomes an increasingly central component of energy consumption in Turkey. Current gas production in Turkey meets 3% of the domestic consumption requirements. Natural gas consumption levels in Turkey have witnessed a dramatic increase, from 4.25 Bcm (billion cubic meters) in 1991 to 21.19 Bcm in 2003. Turkish natural gas is projected to increase dramatically in coming years, with the prime consumers expected to be industry and power plants. Turkey has chosen natural gas as the preferred fuel for the massive amount of new power plant capacity to be added in coming years. Turkey has supplied main natural gas need from Russian Federation; however, Turkmen and Iranian gas represent economically sound alternatives. Turkey is in a strategically advantageous position in terms of its natural gas market. It can import gas from a number of countries and diversify its sources. Turkey's motivation for restructuring its natural gas ownership and markets stems from its desire to fulfill EU accession prerequisites in the energy sector.     

A snapshot of geothermal energy potential and utilization in Turkey

Turkey is one of the countries with significant potential in geothermal energy. It is estimated that if Turkey utilizes all of her geothermal potential, she can meet 14% of her total energy need (heat and electricity) from geothermal sources. Therefore, today geothermal energy is an attractive option in Turkey to replace fossil fuels. Besides, increase in negative effects of fossil fuels on the environment has forced many countries, including Turkey, to use renewable energy sources. Also, Turkey is an energy importing country; more than two-thirds of her energy requirement is supplied by imports. In this context, geothermal energy appears to be one of the most efficient and effective solutions for sustainable energy development and environmental pollution prevention in Turkey. Since geothermal energy will be used more and more in the future, its current potential, usage, and assessment in Turkey is the focus of the present study. The paper not only presents a review of the potential and utilization of the geothermal energy in Turkey but also provides some guidelines for policy makers.     

The status of primary fossil energy resources in Turkey

The lack of primary fossil energy resources in Turkey is an important problem. Turkey is one of the top 25 nations in energy consumption. Its domestic electricity demand is increasing by 6% per year. Turkey is an import-dependent country because the production of natural gas and oil in Turkey is very low. Turkey must import 93% of its oil needs and 99% of its natural gas requirements. The aim of this study is to investigate the current use and the available potential of primary fossil energy resources in Turkey.     

Regional assessment of wind power in western Turkey by the cumulative semivariogram method

Regional patterns of wind energy potential along the western Aegean Sea coastal part of Turkey are evaluated by considering its regional variability through the use of cumulative semivariogram (CSV) models. This innovative technique provides clues about the regional variations along any direction. Since in the western Anatolian coast winds are predominantly northerly or east northerly or west northerly, the regional variability is investigated along the north-south direction. The CSV techniques yielded the radius of influence for wind velocity and Weibull distribution parameters. Dimensionless Standard Regional Dependence (SRD) functions are obtained from the sample CSV. These SRD functions help to make simple regional predictions for the wind energy or wind velocity distribution parameters. The methodology has been applied for predicting the wind velocity in Turkey along the Aegean sea coast. Similar predictions can be achieved for wind energy and Weibull distribution parameters.     

Renewable energy market conditions and barriers in Turkey

Decentralized wind, hydropower, biogas and biomass, geothermal, solar thermal and solar electricity energy systems are the most commonly found renewable energy technologies promoted for rural energy supply within sustainable developments programs. They are, therefore, seen to have a central place in the practice of sustainable development and in allowing less development countries to bypass the environmentally damaging fossil fuel intensive paths made by industrialized countries. On the political front, many less development countries are critical of pressure on them to adopt environmental energy technologies.Turkey is situated the meeting point of three continents (Asia, Europe and Africa) and stands as a bridge between Asia and Europe. The country is located in southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia. As Turkey’s economy has expanded in recent years, the consumption of primary energy has increased. Presently in order to increase the energy production from domestic energy resources, decrease the use of fossil fuels as well as reduce of green house gas emissions different renewable energy sources are used for energy production in Turkey. The share of energy production from renewable energy sources has increased during the last 10 years. Turkey must import most of the energy to meet her needs. Turkey also has a large potential for renewable energies. The lack of knowledge about renewable energy technologies by most policy-makers, potential consumers, and energy firm managers has played against renewable energy developments. The paper presents renewable energy used in Turkey and Europe Union and evaluation of the market conditions and barriers of renewable energy use in Turkey.     

Monthly natural gas demand forecasting by adjusted seasonal grey forecasting model

ABSTRACT

Natural gas stands out among fossil fuels because it is relatively cleaner. It is also an important energy source type for several fields such as electricity production, industry, and heating, etc. Due to the poor capacity of Turkey in terms of natural gas sources, the demand is supplied by producer countries. Hence, accurate forecasting for the demand is of critical importance for Turkey, which imports 99% of its natural gas consumption. In the current literature about demand forecasting, most studies were conducted on an annual basis. However, the seasonal effect on the demand for natural gas cannot be foreseen through annual studies. Besides, to deal with some situations such as seasonal balancing, peak shaving, and gas supply shortage in monthly demand, forecasting models that capture the seasonal trend are needed. Therefore, in this study, a new grey seasonal forecast model has been presented and Turkey’s monthly natural gas demand was predicted via the proposed model. Performance of that model was compared with SGM(1,1) and SARIMA (p,d,q) x (P,D,Q)^s. The obtained results show the superiority of the proposed model. By using this model, Turkey’s monthly natural gas demand was forecasted up until the year 2025. The proposed model allows us to capture seasonal patterns more successfully. In case this seasonal behavior continues, Turkey’s natural gas demand is expected to increase by %20 until 2025. At this point, the outcomes of the study provide important information to decision-makers to be able to determine reliable and stable energy policies.     

Turkey's Renewable Energy Facilities in the Near Future

In this work, renewable energy facilities of Turkey were investigated. Electricity is mainly produced by thermal power plants, consuming coal, lignite, natural gas, fuel oil and geothermal energy, and hydro power plants in Turkey. Turkey has no large oil and gas reserves. The main indigenous energy resources are lignite, hydro and biomass. Turkey has to adopt new, long-term energy strategies to reduce the share of fossil fuels in primary energy consumption. For these reasons, the development and use of renewable energy sources and technologies are increasingly becoming vital for sustainable economic development of Turkey. The most significant developments in renewable production are observed hydropower and geothermal energy production. Renewable electricity facilities mainly include electricity from biomass, hydropower, geothermal, and wind and solar energy sources. Biomass cogeneration is a promising method for production bioelectricity.     

Importance of biomass energy as alternative to other sources in Turkey

Energy plays a vital role in socio–economic development and raising standards of human beings. Turkey is a rapidly growing country; both its population and economy are expanding each year so its energy demand increases correspondingly and this increasing demand has to be met for keeping sustainable development in the economy and raising living conditions of mankind. Although Turkey has many energy sources, it is a big energy importer. Turkey has a lot of potential to supply its own energy, which could be put to use in order to avoid this energy dependence. Additionally, Turkey is a country that has an abundance of renewable energy sources and can essentially provide all energy requirements from indigenous energy sources. Biomass is one of the most promising energy sources considered to be alternative to conventional ones.