Invest in Biogas Projects

Why biogas in Turkey

Due to increased economic growth, industrialization, urbanization, environmental and energy issues have become a priority in our country. Therefore, in 2006, in accordance with the law No.2872 which was enacted by changing the environmental and waste management responsibilities to the municipalities; hence, waste management centers and protocols became imperative.

Besides environmental concerns, the country's domestic hydrocarbon production cannot supply our country's energy needs, hence 85% is imported. As a result, Turkey's electricity market is one of the fastest-growing markets in the world. Therefore, in order to meet increasing energy need Turkey must realize significant investments in the energy sector.

In recent years, our country has been actively promoting investments, many of which have foreign investors in "green field investment" (Greenfield Investment) or has allowed established partnerships with local players. Turkey’s Government, due to availability of prominent renewable energy sources, especially electricity production is actively promoting the use of renewable energy sources and the “renewable/clean energy market” to encourage investments in key initiatives. In 2005, the Government guaranteed fixed tariffs for renewable energy projects and adopted other incentives provided in the renewable energy Law.

A new law amending the The Law No. 5346 for the Use of Renewable Energy Sources for the Production of Electric Power was passed from the parliament in December 2010. The new law, offers better incentives and benefits for renewable energy projects (e.g. a fixed 10-year period of minimum 133 American Dollar per MWH on electricity sales prices) cf. renewable energy sources support mechanism (YEKDEM).

In addition to the aforementioned support mechanism, additional incentives are available to existing support prices when domestic machinery and equipment are used renewable energy plants.

Thus, technologies like incineration and thermal gasification are used for the disposal of solid waste and energy production. Obtaining energy by incinerating waste has disadvantages like low energy production efficiency, the need for the disposal of the ashes and waste and comparatively high carbon emission with respect to thermal gasification.

Thermal gasification technology, as the most accurate and useful method both economically and environmentally, has very important advantages due to disposal of wastes in an effective and efficient manner for the production of energy, low carbon emission and the ability of use of low rate granules resulting from the disposal of wastes as raw material in construction and similar sectors.

Overview of Energy and Renewables in Turkey

Turkey has become one of the fastest growing energy markets in the world, paralleling its economic growth over the last ten years. Following the successfully implemented privatization program in this period – power distribution is now completely in private sector hands, while the privatization of power generation assets is set to be completed within the next few years – has given the country’s energy sector a highly competitive structure and new horizons for growth.

Economic expansion, rising per capita income, positive demographic trends and the rapid pace of urbanization have been the main drivers of energy demand in Turkey, which is estimated to increase by around 6 percent per annum until 2023. The current 74 GW installed electricity capacity is expected to reach 120 GW by 2023 to satisfy the increasing demand in the country, with further investments to be commissioned by the private sector. As part of its efforts to offer sustainable and reliable energy to consumers, Turkey offers investors favorable incentives, such as feed-in-tariffs, purchase guarantees, connection priorities, license exemptions, etc., depending on the type and capacity of the energy generation facility.

The privatization of energy generation assets, coupled with a strategy to clear the way for more private investments, has resulted in an increased share of private entities in the electricity generation sector, from 32 percent in 2002 to 75 percent in 2015.

Opportunities for renewable forms of energy production – hydro, wind, solar, geothermal and others – are abundant in Turkey, and encouraging policies backed by favorable feed-in tariffs are expected to increase their share in the national grid in the coming years. Turkey has made it a priority to increase the share of renewable sources in the country’s total installed power to a remarkable 30 percent by 2023, while taking on board the energy efficiency concept by enacting laws that set principles for saving energy, at both individual and corporate levels, as well as by providing incentives to energy efficiency investments.

As important as the renewables are for Turkey’s energy strategy in the coming years, technologies in such fields as waste processing and greenhouse gas reduction are also often cited together with this new form of power generation as critically important supplementary practices. Sustaining the environment by resorting to renewable resources is accompanied by a number of measures and regulations that are either currently in effect, or will soon be in effect, including lowering carbon emissions, increasing generation/transmission efficiency and promoting the use of waste management technologies.

The sum of these factors has had a profound effect on Turkey’s energy sector, and turned it into one of the most attractive investment destinations in the world. In line with the implementation of investor-friendly regulations and the high increase in demand, the Turkish energy sector is becoming more vibrant and competitive, attracting the attention of more investors for each component of the value chain in all energy sub-sectors.

The total investments required to meet Turkey’s expected energy demand in 2023 is estimated to be around USD 110 billion, more than double the total amount invested in the last decade.

Turkey’s ambitious vision for 2023, the centennial foundation of the Republic, envisages grandiose targets for the energy sector in Turkey. These targets include:

Raising the total installed power capacity to 120 GW
Increasing the share of renewables to 30 percent
Maximizing the use of hydropower
Increasing the installed capacity based on wind power to 20,000 MW
Installing power plants that will provide 1,000 MW of geothermal and 5,000 MW of solar energy
Extending the length of transmission lines to 60,717 km
Reaching a power distribution unit capacity of 158,460 MVA
Extending the use of smart grids
Raising the natural gas storage capacity to more than 5 billion m3
Establishing an energy stock exchange
Commissioning nuclear power plants (two operational nuclear power plants, with a third under construction)
Increasing the coal-fired installed capacity from the current level of 15.9 GW to 30 GW

Conceptual Framework and Gasification Method

Gasification method, is a process implemented many years ago by gasification of coal from fossil fuels. Then energy has been produced by biomass and solid waste gasification. Thermal methods in solid waste disposal have been used in the continent of Europe and America together, but most commonly in Japan by reaching a rate of 75% as solid waste disposal procedure. Incineration, gasification and pyrolysis are used as thermal disposal methods.

Composition of the solid waste has importance in incineration method and there is a requirement of convenience for burning in the boiler. The characterstics of solid waste in our country is not convenien to burn in construction type boilers.

Pyrolysis method does not require a very selective waste composition, however, when the difficulties of the application in management period and world applications are considered, its efficiency and profitability in commercial sense is not enough.

Gasification method is used in biomass disposal and energy production especially in continental Europe and America. Commercial plants are working in solid waste disposal to electricity in Japan, continental Europe and in Korea.

The advantages of gasification method compared to other methods can be stated as such;

Gasification is an energy producing technology that can produce more clean energy.
It is a technology amongst renewable energy technologies that can use combinations of different raw materials.

Fossil fuels, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and radioactive fields (nuclear) pollute the atmosphere but rather than direct incineration, carbon emissions are reset by the use of gasification technology.

As the quality of the gas obtained from gasification method is improved, when it is used in machines, a more effective heat and electricity can be obtained.

It is a technology that can provide biomass as the substitution of fossil fuels and radioactive power.

In waste conversion technology, (from urban municipal waste to agricultural waste) gasification is the unique of its kind in terms of convenient and high quality energy supply.

Introduction of Facilities and System to be Established

Our system has been designed for household or industrial solid waste disposal. The system is comprised of a gasification reactor in accordance with the capacity, a synthesis gas burning boiler and steam turbine-generator group. Solid wastes after pre-seperation with an average 15% moisture are sent to primer or secondary crusher if any and then feeds gasification reactor with a particle size of 3-4 cm. Reactions are completed in phases of plus pressure and fluidized bed gasification reactor type dryer (200 C) + pyrolysis (600 C) + oxidation (800 C) and reduction and the resulting synthesis gas is sent to the steam boiler special burner by the effect of positive pressure. The gas burning in the boiler provides high pressure steam and this high pressure superheated steam completeselectricity production cycle by movin to steam turbine. As we know, solid waste in our country has excess moisture and in order to reduce this moisture, the average heat of 200 C from the chimney of steam boiler is used by co-generation system as chimney by-pass for drying the wastes.

Our market analysis indicate that we can provide second hand and qood quality equipment for the plant with a better price.