Energy Outlook of Turkey

Abstract

In Turkey, energy sector is mainly state-owned. In the recent years, the private sector is been encouraged to invest in energy business by developing liberalization and privatization in the energy market.
Lignite is one of the most promising indigenous resources of the country and its production, which has been supported by the Government, has increased gradually since the beginning of the 1980s and reached 51 Mt in 2002.
The import of the hard coal has been increasing every year owing to the inadequacy of its production to meet the demand of the country.
Because of its geopolitical location, Turkey is an important candidate to be "Eurasia Energy Corridor" by offering a great potential to transport the rich oil and natural gas resources of the Caspian Region to the western Energy Markets. In this endeavor, a particular attention is given to realize the relevant oil and natural gas projects.
Natural gas consumption in Turkey has started towards the end of the 1970s and has increased rapidly with high amounts of imports because of its small production in the country.
Renewable energy resources have a high share in energy supply in rural areas, in particular, owing to the extensive use of wood by households. Hydro-power generation reached from 23.15 TWh in1990 to 33.68 TWh in 2002. It is expected that hydro and geothermal energy use will increase substantially.
Electricity demand of the country has grown rapidly. It was 56.8 TWh in 1990 and reached 132.6 TWh in 2002. Installed power was 16.3 GW and 31.8 Gw in the years 1990 and 2002, respectively.