Geothermal energy ‘might reshape agriculture’ in country

ANKARA

With the rapidly increasing utilization in agriculture around the world, geothermal energy stands as a key driver for diversifying the products and spreading them to all regions regardless of their climate in Türkiye, which holds leadership in Europe in terms of geothermal resources.

Geothermal energy, which has more than 1,500 natural outlets in Türkiye, has potential to reshape agriculture in the country and is quite sufficient to grow all kinds of agricultural products in every province via greenhouses operating with these resources, said Ali Kındap, Chairman of the Geothermal Energy Association (JED).

“With the untapped geothermal resources under our feet, we can grow tomatoes in Ağrı, bananas in Van and strawberries in Erzurum. We could even create new globally recognized brands, like the 'Anamur banana,'" Kındap said.

"We have some truly unique examples of these productions. The productivity and yield in these examples are easily on par with countries that have a strong presence in this field worldwide," Kındap added.

The summer vegetable tomato produced in geothermal energy greenhouses at minus 35 degrees in Diyadin, a 1,925-meter-altitude district of the eastern province of Ağrı, is in higher demand compared to those grown in the southern city of Antalya thanks to their high quality, he said.

Kındap noted that cultivating fruits and vegetables in every province can also result in cost savings in transportation.

"There is no need for Antalya-produced tomatoes to be transported to Istanbul, 800 kilometers away. By increasing agricultural production with geothermal greenhouses, we can reduce food prices and become one of the leading exporting countries in this field," he explained.

Countries with low geothermal resources are far ahead of Türkiye, which is the leading country in Europe and the fourth country in the world in terms of geothermal resource abundance.

Noting that that there are currently 5,293 acres of geothermal greenhouses in operation in Türkiye, he said that the country can easily reach 100,000 acres of geothermal greenhouse capacity within ten years.

"Our country must unquestionably support soilless farming and geothermal greenhouse practices. We must bring our 85 million people together with healthy, affordable and accessible food. We have the potential to be the world's leading production hub in this field by a wide margin. With our geothermal resources, we have the capability to grow any desired vegetable or fruit across the entire Anatolian geography."