Hydropower potential of municipal water supply dams in Turkey: A case study in Ulutan Dam

This paper aims to analyze the hydropower potential of municipal water supply dams in Turkey. The facility is in favor with the energy policy of Turkish Government and European Union. In the study, the design head of the power plant was selected as the average water level of the reservoir and the discharge was calculated from the annual water supply of the dam. It has been estimated that the existing 45 municipal water supply dams of Turkey have an electric energy potential of 173 GWh/year, corresponding to about 24,000,000 Euro/year economic benefit. The financing of these facilities can be provided from international funding institutions. For a case study, Zonguldak Ulutan Dam and its water treatment plant have been investigated in detail. The current electricity consumption of the water treatment plant is 4,500,000 kWh/year and the facility provides 35,000 m³/day water to 6 settlements. The installation of a hydropower plant on the mentioned water treatment plant will cut the electric consumption by 24%. The proposed project has a payback period of 1.4 years and it can produce clean and feasible energy.