Recent energy studies and energy policies in Turkey

Currently, considerable attention has been focused on the energy sources and energy studies in Turkey. Indigenous energy consumption accounts for 37% of total energy consumption. The Turkish government's investment needs in the energy sector for the period 2000-2010 will be around 55 billion US dollars. Of this, about 81% is total planning investments. Conventional financing of major infrastructure projects would only increase the amount of foreign credit, thus the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (MENR) has conceived other options for financing projects. One option is the so-called Built, Operate, and Transfer (BOT) model, private investors build and operate private sector generation years, at which point they transfer ownership to the state. In June 1996, MENR introduced the Built, Own, and Operate (BOO) financing model. A major dilemma now faced by Turkey is how to invest in new electric power capacity while at the same time adhering to foreign debt ceilings to under lending rules set by the International Monetary Fund. Turkey has to adopt new long-term energy strategies to reduce the share of fossil fuels in the primary energy consumption. Recently, the development of alternative energy sources has been a major focus of the research effort in Turkey.