Clean electricity from low impact hydropowerThe project consists of three cascade projects, each having its own turbines and generators which are used to transform the potential energy of water to mechanical energy at a first stage and later into electricity. The bundled project is composed of the 6.567 MWe Cemel I, 7.055 MWe Cemel II and 6 MW Cemel III hydroelectric power plants on the mid-sectionof Kızılırmak River basin. Thus the total installed capacity of the project does not exceed 20.4 MWe. The purpose of this run-of-river type project is to generate electricity by using the existing water without constructing any reservoir.
The project is located within the boundaries of Avanos district, Nevşehir province, central Anatolia in Turkey. The nearest village to the project site is Aladdin which is about 2 km away from the project site. About 71% of the Avanos population works on agriculture and 21% works on service sector, mainly tourism, whereas only 1.28% works on industry. By creating employment and improving electricity supply the project helps stimulate the regional economy.
How hydropower contributes to climate actionHydropower plants use the energy of water to generate electricity. The energy is harnessed by passing water through a turbine. Under the pressure of the water, the turbine turns and transfers this energy to a generator, which converts kinetic energy into electricity. This principle applies to all types of hydroelectric power plants: from small run-of-river power plants to pumped-storage power plants on bodies of water like lakes. In many parts of the world, electricity is still primarily generated from fossil fuels. Clean hydropower can replace some of this emission-intensive energy and thus verifiably save carbon emissions. In most hydropower projects, the electricity is fed into a regional power grid, diversifying the energy supply and improving energy security in areas affected by power shortages and blackouts. Often, these projects also create jobs for the local population. Hydropower projects thus make an important contribution to clean energy supply as well as contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Hydopower projects in the ClimatePartner portfolio are registered with international standards.
