Zorlu's Kızıldere III geothermal plant starts operation

By Huseyin Erdogan

ANKARA

Turkish energy company Zorlu Enerji's first unit of the Kızıldere III geothermal power plant in Denizli in southwest Turkey became operational, the company said on Wednesday.

Upon completion of the entire plant, Kizildere will become the biggest geothermal plant in the country.

The first unit of the power plant will cost $320 million with 99.5 megawatts of capacity, according to Zorlu Enerji.

"The first unit of the Kızıldere III geothermal power plant will produce 720 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year," Sinan Ak, CEO of Zorlu Energy Group said.

"The Kızıldere III geothermal power plant will have a total capacity of 165 megawatts and when completed next year will be the biggest geothermal power plant of Turkey," Ak said.