International Geothermal Congress, IGC Turkey 2016, was held in Izmir between June 6-8 with the attendance of more than 200 leading Turkish and international geothermal experts, according to the statement released on Sunday.
At the recently held event sponsored by Anadolu Agency (AA), sustainability and the untapped potential for direct and indirect utilization of geothermal resources in Turkey were key themes to be discussed by Turkish and international industry representatives, the statement said.
During the event, more than 200 leading Turkish and international geothermal experts shared latest developments in geothermal technologies, financing, reservoir management, operations and exploration.
Turning the issue of carbon emissions into revenue opportunities was another topic that was discussed in detail in the event based on case studies from Turkey and Iceland.
“IGC Turkey was a timely event for the Turkish geothermal industry and Izmir, in the heart of the geothermal activities of the country, the right place for it,” said Alexander Richter, the Principal of ThinkGeoEnergy which is a news platform for the international geothermal industry.
According to the statement, Turkey has still a very much untapped potential for geothermal power generation outside of current development areas. It is expected that the country could reach the milestone of 1.000 megawatt (MW) of installed geothermal power generation capacity already in the next 3-4 years at current pace of development.
IGC Turkey were organized in partnership with the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources of Turkey and Geothermal Power Plants Investors Association (JESDER) of Turkey. The event was co-organized by Enerchange and ThinkGeoEnergy.com and will again be held in May/June 2016 in Izmir.
Turkey’s geothermal sector has experienced an incredible rise in recent years with a growth in power generation capacity from 30 MW in 2008 to the current 648 MW.
By Ebru Sengul
Anadolu Agency
ebrusengul@aa.com.tr