Carbon dioxide emission from the Turkish electricity sector and its mitigation options

In this study, electricity generation associated CO2 emissions and fuel-specific CO2 emission factors are calculated based on the IPCC methodology using the data of fossil-fueled power plants that ran between 2001 and 2008 in Turkey. The estimated CO2 emissions from fossil-fueled power plants between 2009 and 2019 are also calculated using the fuel-specific CO2 emission factors and data on the projected generation capacity of the power plants that are planned to be built during this period. Given that the total electricity supply (planned+existing) will not be sufficient to provide the estimated demand between 2011 and 2019, four scenarios based on using different fuel mixtures are developed to overcome this deficiency. The results from these scenarios show that a significant decrease in the amount of CO2 emissions from electricity generation can be achieved if the share of the fossil-fueled power plants is lowered. The Renewable Energy Scenario is found to result in the lowest CO2 emissions between 2009 and 2019. The associated CO2 emissions calculated based on this scenario are approximately 192 million tons lower than that of the Business As Usual Scenario for the estimation period.

► Electricity associated CO2 emissions increased 62% and 56% between 2001 and 2008, respectively.
► Emission factors for natural gas and lignite are calculated as 374 and 1080 kg CO2/MWh, respectively.
► Existing and planned power plants will not be able to provide the demand between 2011 and 2019.
► A reduction of 192 million tons can be achieved in CO2 emissions using renewable resources.