Turkey and Japan are working on a project to build a pumped-storage hydro power plant in Eskisehir province, in the western Anatolian region of Turkey, according to energy ministry officials.
A pumped-storage hydro power plant generates power through gravitational potential energy, which is then used by an electric power system.
Turkey is due to invest around $1 billion in the Gokcekaya dam project in Eskisehir to build the pumped-storage hydro power plant, according to Japan and Turkey's international cooperation agency draft report. The plant will have 1,400 megawatt power capacity when completed. Officials predict that the project will take nearly a decade to finish.
Pumped-storage hydro power plants consist of two different types of dams. Firstly, a small dam is built at a higher level than the main dam. Secondly, water in the main dam is pumped with the help of a water booster up to the small dam and the storage water released from the upper small dam towards the main one produces power.
Water flows down and generates electricity at peak hours and the water booster works using off peak electricity for energy savings.
Turkish and Japanese officials have negotiated the plans for the project since 2010, said energy ministry officials.
Turkey supplies 17 percent of its electricity from hydro power plants. As a developing country, Turkey's electricity consumption continues to rise each year. Consequently it has increasing energy needs but aims to decrease foreign dependency with the use of its domestic resources. The country is now attempting to increase its installed electricity capacity to 110,000 megawatt by 2023.
By Oguzhan Ozsoy
Anadolu Agency
oguzhan.ozsoy@aa.com.tr