Supporting Turkey's increased energy demand with hydropowerIn the past twenty years, Turkey has experienced rapid economic and population growth. This in turn has driven up energy demand and import dependency on fossil fuel-based energy. To reduce this dependency and to increase the share of emission-free renewable energy, this project is producing green energy based on hydropower. Located in western Turkey at Orhaneli Creek our project serves two purposes: Generating renewable electricity as well as securing long-term water supply for Bursa city and providing irrigation water for agricultural land.
By doing so, this project makes a valuable contribution to climate action: It reduces around 179,880 tonnes of CO2 annually as this amount of electricity would otherwise have been generated using fossil fuels. The local population benefits from a more stable power grid and new long-term employment opportunities as well as increased income for other local employments such as fishing and agricultural farming.
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.
