A Comparative Study of Energy Models for Turkish Electricity Market Using LEAP

Abstract

Fossil fuel thermal power plants constitute a large part of the Turkish electricity generation capacity. Turkish government has been developing several energy policy documents to evaluate how various renewable energy sources of the country can be utilized optimally in the generation of electricity within the next 30 years. This study considers three scenarios in the transition to renewable energy for Turkey; the business as usual (BAU), energy conservation (EC) and renewable energy (REN) scenarios. EC scenario considers the use of energy-efficient appliances and imposing a carbon tax, whereas REN scenario considers increasing the share of the renewable energy sources as much as possible in the power generation mix. These scenarios were evaluated in terms of cost and environmental impact. The LEAP (Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning Model) was used in the research. The REN scenario has been shown to be the optimal energy policy option for Turkey in terms of cost and environmental impact.