Socioeconomic Impacts of Balcova Geothermal District Heating System-Turkey (BGDHS)

Abstract

The environmental impacts of geothermal development projects (GDP) are gaining interest in terms of the increasing the renewable energy resources all over the world. The projects pay attention not only to the effects of ecosystems and land contour, but also to the effective and reasonable usage of natural resources. Different geothermal areas and projects are needed, potential project scenarios and their related laws and regulations depend on different environmental effects.
Environmental impacts differ depending on the type of the geothermal field and the application. In general, geothermal development will also have socioeconomic impacts with physical, chemical and biological impacts in environmental perspective. The importance socioeconomic impacts for decision, planning and management processes in geothermal developments are determined by international agreements, protocols and laws. The measurements of socioeconomic parameters are needed in environmental impact assessment studies.
In this study, environmental impacts of geothermal application will be examined in socioeconomic title and specifically in Balcova Geothermal District Heating System (BGDHS), Turkey. The system is the largest district heating system of Turkey and has been very attractive to the settlers of Balcova town in Izmir City. It is quite interesting to observe the socioeconomic impacts of the system since 1996.