Ali Kindap, Chairman of the Board of the Geothermal Energy Association (JED), pointed out that Türkiye, which has geothermal use at the level of 5000 MW in energy production, residential heating, greenhouse cultivation, and tourism, has 62 ,000 MW of undiscovered resource potential.
“The inexhaustible oil of the Anatolian geography is geothermal. Of course, we are glad that there are new oil deposits in some provinces and regions of our country. We need to experience the same joy, or even more, for the sustainable and clean geothermal resources that are available.” Kindap said.
“Let’s be happy when we find a geothermal resource”
Pointing out that the experience of Turkish drilling companies in geothermal resource exploration has had a great impact on the positive developments in oil exploration and drilling activities in Türkiye in recent years, Kindap made the following assessment:
“Oil and geothermal resource exploration are very close to each other in terms of technical and engineering. However, when oil is found in a province of our country, we hear shouts of joy from many segments of society and media outlets, but we see that the same joy is not experienced when geothermal, which can create value in many different fields, is found.
Employment opportunities are provided by geothermal resources in the region, considering the possibility of use in a wide area from electricity generation to greenhouse cultivation, from housing heating to fisheries, and other contributions to the economy. Making more use of these resources is important for our environmental and economic goals.”
Expressing that the country has a unique location in terms of underground resources, Kindap said that geothermal is “…a jewel that serves the economic development of countries in many areas.”
“We can be the world leader”
Reminding that the drilling companies located in Türkiye, thanks to the experience gained from the acceleration in geothermal energy investments between 2010 and 2020, have executed projects not only in Türkiye but also in different geographies of the world, JED Chairman Ali Kindap continued his words as follows:
“Anatolia is a magnificent geography where people have been integrated with geothermal wealth for thousands of years, settled in the places where the geothermal source originates, and are heated by that source and find healing with that source. Anatolia is a geothermal paradise. The oil of these lands is geothermal. If we move the geothermal resources of Anatolia, which is the source of over 1,500 natural geothermal resources, to the point where they serve the common welfare of our nation, we can move our fourth place in the world ranking to the leadership by far.
Turkish geothermal sector investors are ready to be a part of this great vision with their engineering know-how, human resources, and financial power. Today, we see that Turkish drilling companies have established turnkey geothermal power plants in a wide geography from Europe to Africa and the Far East. Indisputably, geothermal has an important place among the most fundamental energy sources that will contribute to the realization of our government’s vision of ‘2053 Net Zero Emissions’.”
