EUD President Cem Aşık: Floating SPPs on the Agenda of Electricity Producers

Cem Aşık, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Electricity Producers Association (EÜD), stated that floating solar power plants (SPP) are on the agenda of electricity producers and said, "Using hydroelectric power plants and rivers for this purpose both prevents the evaporation of water and generates electricity by using the infrastructure of the power plants. Since there is a lot of reflection on the water surface, their efficiency is also higher."

Aşık, who participated in the Energy Fair in Gaziantep, said that as an association, they cover more than 80 per cent of private companies producing electricity in Turkey.

Stating that they have carried out studies that contribute to the development of the sector and the formation of competition, Aşık said, "Electricity holds an important place in our lives. More importantly, it has started to enter our lives more in new areas. Electric vehicles that are not on our agenda, the use of more electricity in industry, heating and cooling in buildings. Electricity is the fastest developing type among other energy types and its production is becoming more and more critical."

Pointing out that renewable energy sources are gaining more and more importance, Aşık said:

"In addition to storage, new spaces are needed in production as the sector develops. In the field of renewable energy, solar and wind hold the lion's share in terms of power and energy. Wind is a little more complicated, both permits and maintenance afterwards, etc... You can install the solar energy system in the fields, on the roofs of houses. GES is more preferred because it is easy to install and operate and has been in high demand by the industry in recent years. Due to its nature, it is a little more dispersed. SPP occupies space from time to time, it covers large areas where you work on a large scale. It can be difficult to find these lands. These lands are not agricultural land or forested areas. Therefore, there are also constraints such as finding vacant land and its proximity to transformer centres. As such, new areas are on our agenda."

Aşık stated that in this context, producers and state institutions are in search of new areas and spaces and various studies are being carried out.

- "Since there is a lot of reflection on the water surface, their efficiency is also higher"

Explaining that there is the idea of installing SPPs on the water surface on the agenda, Aşık continued as follows:

"For example, installing SPPs floating on the water. Turkey is one of the leading countries in terms of hydroelectric power generation. 32 per cent of our installed power comes from hydroelectric power plants. When you put solar energy panels on the naturally empty and surface of the water here, various benefits are obtained. In this way, you reduce the evaporation of water, the sun does not hit the water directly. Therefore, you also prevent water loss. It is a form of production that we support and has entered our lives with the legislation. We call the power plants 'hybrid connected to a second source'. Using hydroelectric power plants and rivers for this purpose both prevents the evaporation of water and generates electricity by using the infrastructure of the power plants. Since there is a lot of reflection on the water surface, their efficiency is also higher."

Stating that energy producers see this situation as an investment opportunity, Aşık said, "The electricity investor operating hydroelectric power plants will definitely consider using it as a second source in a hybrid way within the same power plant. The surface of the seas is also possible. For this, amendments are required in the Coastal Law, and there are studies on this. All together, a new area will be opened."

Source: Anadolu Agency