GDF Suez Applies for Licence to Build Coal-Powered Plant in Turkey

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--French utility firm GDF Suez (PA:GSZ) (Paris) has applied to Turkish energy regulator Energy Markets Regulatory Authority (EMRA) (Ankara, Turkey) to build a coal-powered plant in Adana, Yumurtalik. The company applied for a 1.32-gigawatt (GW) power plant, which will burn imported hard coal.

According to the daily Milliyet Gazete, citing EMRA officials, the plant is expected to cost $948 million and will be located near an area with oil terminals. Currently, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline ships Caspian crude oil to Ceyhan, while the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline, which ships Iraqi crude oil, connects to the Mediterranean coast.

The application has been made by a consortium that includes GDF Suez; GDF SUEZ Energy International (London, England), a subsidary of GDF Suez; and construction firm Mimag Enerji (Ankara, Turkey). Last week, Turkey's Bilgin Enerji Yatirim Holding applied to develop a 1,370-megawatt (MW), coal-powered plant in Yumurtalik, Adana. The Turkish government plans to extend investment incentives in the energy sector to encourage the development of coal-fired plants.

In early January, the Turkish government signed an agreement with the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) TAQA to develop lignite fields in Afsin-Elbistan and to build a new power plant. The 1,400-MW Afsin-Elbistan B plant, which is operated by Elektrik Uretim AS (Ankara, Turkey) and consists of four 360-MW units, is to be renovated.

According to the Turkish Energy Ministry, Turkey's total energy demand from primary sources was 115 million tons of oil equivalent in 2011. The ministry forecasts that the demand will increase 90% to 218 million tons of oil equivalent in 2023. In early December, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said that the country is targeting $115 billion of energy investments by 2023 to meet growing demand amid an economic expansion that has averaged 5.5% in the past decade.

According to figures from the Turkish Energy Ministry, Turkey generates 41.4% of its electricity from natural gas-powered plants; 27.4% from coal-powered plants; and 25.9% from hydroelectric plants. Turkey's total electricity generation capacity is 55,875 MW.

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