emissions in Turkey. Therefore, this wind power project is important for the future of environmental control in Turkey. While the use of renewable energy is projected to increase from . 14% to 1. 8% by 2020, the use of coal for energy is also expected to increase from 23% to 33. 3% by 2020 (The Gold Standard, 2007, 9). This project has the potential to reduce this projected increase by discovering the value of wind power while also developing the technology necessary to install wind turbines on a large scale throughout Turkey.
The contribution that the project in Balikesir will make is enormous with regards to environmentally friendly electricity production (The Gold Standard, 2007, 9). Currently, only nine wind power plants operate in Turkey and as the expected growth rates for energy in the future increase, projects such as this one are important for the continued operation of electricity throughout Turkey (The Gold Standard, 2007, 9). The wind power plant began project activity in November of 2007 with the commissioning of the plant. Estimated decreases in emissions are projected through the end of October 2014.
Over this seven year period, emissions are predicted to decrease at higher rates each year. In 2007, it was projected that this wind farm project would decrease emissions by 26,996, in 2008, it was projected that emissions would decrease by 161,977 and by 2014 emissions are predicted to decrease overall by 1,133,836 (The Gold Standard, 2007, 10). However, there are several barriers that Turkey faces as they implement wind power technology: financial resources, uncertainty about the future national policy, currency risks and lacking experience compared to traditional technologies (The Gold Standard, 2007, 21).
System use fees for the use of the public grid system will also apply to the wind farm project. This usage fee can be substantial for wind farms because it is calculated on the basis of the installed capacity of the power plant (The Gold Standard, 2007, 21). As the electricity market in Turkey continues to increase, it is essential that renewable resource technology be developed and implemented so solutions to these barriers must be found as well (The Gold Standard, 2007, 21). The most obvious solution to these barriers is the recruitment of investors (The Gold Standard, 2007, 23).
There are a variety of ways to go about investing in this wind power plant. Build Own Transfer (BOT) plants are stately owned and have guaranteed income. Independent Power Producers (IPP) have more application to this type of project. IPPs are private investments into large wind power projects with the purpose of earning money through the sale of electricity (The Gold Standard, 2007, 24). Solutions such as these are important as the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions continues to increase.
Wind power has the potential to reduce emissions while providing a source of electricity that results in no new greenhouse gas emissions. The project may not be economically attractive but it is certainly environmentally attractive (The Gold Standard, 2007, 25). A similar wind power project in the Balikesir Province in Turkey is being implemented by Soma Enerji Elektrik Uretim A. S. (UNFCC, 2008, 2). This project also aims to create electricity through the use of wind power and feed it into the national electricity grid (UNFCC, 2008, 2).
This project will include the installation of 176 wind turbines with 800 kW installed capacity each. This electricity will be fed into the national electricity grid through a 17 km transmission line at the Soma-B plant transformer (UNFCC, 2008, 2). The project encompasses the province of Balikesir as well as the province of Manisa. It will include the Soma, Kirkagac, and Savastepe districts including the villages of Kayrakalti, Sultaniye, Bozarmut, Hamidiye, Tuzladagi, Tekiliisiklar, Kozluoren, Badelmi Hidirbali and Yazoren (UNFCC, 2008, 2).
The project will include 111 turbines in the Manisa province and 65 turbines in the Balikesir province (UNFCC, 2008, 2). The project is predicted to produce a net electricity amount of 468. 700 MWh per year, which will result in a 297. 515 metric tons reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. The estimated reduction in carbon dioxide emissions over the twenty-one year study period for this project is 6. 247. 818 metric tons (UNFCC, 2008, 2). The turbine constructed was expected to begin in July of 2008 with operation of wind turbines to begin in 2009.
As the wind turbines become operable, greenhouse gas emissions will decrease by displacing electricity from fossil fuel power plants. This displacement will result in climate change proposals as well as other benefits to the environment. With the expected wind turbine life span of thirty years, it is predicted that emissions will continue to decrease after the twenty-one year study period (UNFCC, 2008, 2). Similar to the first wind power project described, this project intends to contribute to sustainable energy in several ways.
First, this project will reduce electricity imports of Turkey while also reducing dependency on fossil fuels. It will also diversity and assure the continued supply of energy while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. This project will help create jobs in Turkey during the construction and operation phases of the twenty-one year project which will help support the local economy through the use of available services. Finally, the project will aim to support technology that aims to implement renewable energy throughout the country of Turkey (UNFCC, 2008, 2).
The primary purpose of this project is to harness the power of the wind in order to provide clean sources of electricity to the national electricity grid system. The turbine blades connect to an electricity generator which supplies electricity to the grid system (UNFCC, 2008, 6). Enercon E44 wind turbines will be used for this project, each with an output of 800 kW. These turbines are largely manufactured in Germany and will be delivered to the project site. Only the blades and masts will be manufactured in Turkey. As the project is estimated to produce a net electricity amount of 468.
700 MWh per year it will result in a 297. 515 metric tons decrease in carbon dioxide each year through the year 2030. Overall, the project is estimated to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 6. 247. 818 metric tons (UNFCC, 2008, 7). Finally, this project requires the construction of a new grid connected renewable power plant. However, this construction does not include making modifications to any existing electricity generating facilities (UNFCC, 2008, 10). In comparison to the other wind power project included, there are also barriers to this wind power project.
The first barrier is the investment barrier. In order to fund such large scale energy projects, investors are essential. However, financing these projects is a huge task and no project like the construction of a wind power plant have been completed without VER credits from Turkey (UNFCC, 2008, 14). Therefore, this project faces an enormous funding barrier. There are several reasons why the project has been unsuccessful in obtaining the necessary funding. The entire economic status of Turkey is rather unpredictable so banks are reluctant to finance projects that do not have carefully predicted returns.
Also, it would take wind farms many years to pay back such funding. Transmission fees also stand in the way of successfully constructing wind power farms (UNFCC, 2008, 14). The second barrier includes technological issues. The wind power energy market is not fully developed in Turkey so access to the technology necessary to build wind power farms is not always available. Therefore, much of the technology uses must be imported. Additionally, the ability to transfer wind power into electricity depends on the amount of wind available and this is not always predictable.
Finally, finding employees trained enough to work with wind power technology is difficult as well (UNFCC, 2008, 15). A third barrier includes legal and bureaucratic difficulties associated with obtaining licensure for the project as well as overcoming governmental policies associated with electricity shortage. It also presents difficulties transporting and moving the wind turbines because of the necessity of special equipment. Additionally, the roads and highways are often insufficient for use by the heavy equipment necessary to move the large pieces of turbine (UNFCC, 2008, 16).