Geothermal installed capacity exceeds 1,700 megawatts

ISTANBUL

The installed capacity of geothermal power plants (GPP) in operation in Türkiye reached 1,726 megawatts by the end of November, according to Ufuk Şentürk, president of the Geothermal Power Plant Investors Association (JESDER).

They commissioned 2 GPPs with a capacity of 35 megawatts by the end of November and one more GPP is expected to become operational by the end of this month, Şentürk noted.

Türkiye's potential installed capacity for geothermal power plants (GPP) is 5,000 megawatts, he said, adding that geothermal resources could be used widely through greenhouse and residential heating in addition to electricity generation.

Great progress has been made this year with the Agriculture Based Specialized Organized Industrial Zones (TDİOSB) Project through the incentives provided by the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry on greenhouse heating with geothermal energy, according to Şentürk.

Steps taken in 2024 aimed at boosting the use of geothermal resources in agriculture, but more should be done, such as including private companies in the TDİOSB scheme as founding members, he said.

Şentürk also noted that in the new year, efforts are expected to focus on utilizing idle oil wells in the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP) regions for geothermal energy, to be used in greenhouse and residential heating.

According to data from the Energy Ministry, the share of geothermal energy in Türkiye’s electricity generation was 3.4 percent, against wind at 10.3 percent and solar power at 6.7 percent.