The National Energy Plan published in 2023 forecast that 1.7 GW more local coal power would be connected to the grid by 2030, but did not say where.[7]: 15 As of 2024[update]Çelikler Holding want to build more coal power, despite public opposition,[8] and are awaiting official approval or rejection of the environmental impact assessment.
The National Energy Plan published in 2023 forecast that 1.7 GW more local coal power would be connected to the grid by 2030, but did not say where.[7]: 15
In 2004 or 2005 an EIA was done re rehabilitation and FGD.[17] The plant was shut down in January 2020 due to local air pollution,[18] but reopened later in 2020.[19] Delivery of FGD parts was delayed by the covid-19 pandemic but the filters were installed in 2021.[20]
In January 2019 locals complained that the plant had been restarted causing ash pollution visible in the snow,[21] and local MP Sefer Aycan said in parliament he was concerned that the plant would add to the industrial pollution of the Aksu and Ceyhan rivers.[22]
In March 2019 Greenpeace projected the message "These chimneys are spitting poison" onto the plant,[23] to publicise their earlier report claiming that, together with neighbouring Afşin-Elbistan B, the plants were responsible for 17,000 premature deaths. The area is a sulfur dioxide air pollution hotspot.[24] According to energy analyst Haluk Direskeneli, writing in 2019, FGD was not installed and electrostatic precipitation was inadequate, and "it is futile to repair this power plant".[25]
The plant was shut down in January 2020 as it did not meet the flue gas emission limits which came into force that month.[26] Çelikler planned to have filters installed by June 2020.[27] The plant reopened but complaints of air pollution continued,[28] and in October 2021 it was said by opposition MP Ali Öztunç to be still operating without filters due to company lobbying.[29] In 2020 the fuel oil system was replaced by gas and dry flue gas filters were completed; wet flue gas filters were completed in 2021.[30]
In 2022 a study found levels of chromium and nickel in the soil exceeding regulations[31] and the Climate Change Policy and Research Association alleged that the plant was operating illegally according to environmental laws.[32]: 27 Little power was generated in 2023 due to damage by the earthquakes.[33]
Technology
The plant burns lignite, which is transported by conveyor belt[34] from the nearby Kışlaköy coal mine. After burning 2% of the lignite remains as slag and 18% as fly ash, and a new landfill site was planned for both of these in 2019.[35] Use of modified fly ash in concrete has been suggested.[36]
Built between 2004 and 2005 Afşin-Elbistan B is the largest single coal-fired power station in Turkey and is estimated to emit almost 8 million tonnes CO 2 per year,[15] over 1% of Turkey's greenhouse gas emissions. Opponents said in 2020 that ash retention filters were disabled on the pretext that they are expensive to clean.[40] An environmental impact report for proposed ash and slag storage was approved in 2020.[41] By 2021 unit 3 had been converted to gas.[42] Due to lack of coal due to a mine landslide it was predicted not to run from mid-October 2024 for at least 6 months.[43]
Opposition
In 2021 environmental group TEMA Foundation said that air quality measurements had not been taken in Karamanmaraş for almost 11 months of 2020, and that it was very worrying that the plants continued to operate on temporary permits without the necessary environmental improvements.[44]
Cancelled power stations
Afşin-Elbistan C
Afşin-Elbistan C was a planned 1800-MWcoal-fired power station, which was proposed to be funded by the Turkey Wealth Fund and built by a state-owned mining company to be called Maden Holding. According to the EIA the plant would have burned 23 million tonnes of lignite annually, and emitted over 61 million tonnes of CO2 each year for 35 years.[45]: 319 However in 2021 Turkey targeted net zero carbon emissions by 2053,[46] and in 2022 the C power station was cancelled.[47][48]
The site, on the border in Afşin district,[52] is near the two existing Afşin-Elbistan power stations. In 2019, compulsory purchase of the land was authorised by President Erdoğan,[53] and diversion of Hurman Creek would have allowed more access to Elbistan coalfield as well as supplying the plant's cooling water.[54][needs update] In 2021 negotiations with Chinese companies continued.[3] But later in 2021 China stopped funding overseas coal power.[55][56]
The coalfield also has D and E sectors but, although D and E power stations were planned in the early 21st century,[64]: 27 these are not in use.[65]: 75
Elbistan coalfield, also known as Afşin Elbistan Lignite Reserve, is a large lignitecoalfield in Kahramanmaraş Province in the south-east of Turkey. Elbistan is the field with the most coal in Turkey.[66] Formerly Çöllolar coal mine also supplied a local power station, but after that closed Kışlaköy was the only mine. 200 million tons of CO2 were emitted by burning lignite from this field before 2016.[67] The lignite is high in sulfur and moisture, and the energy value of this coal is only 1,000 to 1,500 kcal/kg,[68] or less than 5 MJ/kg, which is a quarter of typical thermal coal.[69] The coalfield supplies the Afşin-Elbistan power stations.
The average energy value of coal is 1.031 Kcal/kg,[73]seam depths are 50 – 175 m, moisture content 53%, ash content 20% and sulfur content 1.2%.[74]
Electricity exports to the EU will be subject to the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism from 2026 unless Turkey implements its own carbon price. Energy thinktank Shura suggests that people whose jobs are at risk of this could be offered retraining or early retirement.[75]: 10–13
After a slope failure at an overburden dump site in 2024, the Chamber of Engineers said they had warned about it 4 years before.[76] Although there were no injuries this time, one independent expert said that lessons had not been learned from the fatal 2011 landslides at nearby Çöllolar coal mine, and that safety measures still lacked oversight.[77]
Disease and deaths
Article 56 of the constitution says that “Everyone has the right to live in a healthy and balanced environment. It is the duty of the State and citizens to improve the natural environment, to protect the environmental health and to prevent environmental pollution.”[1] In 2024 Human Rights Watch alleged that the existing power stations and proposed expansion contravene the constitution and violate the human rights of nearby residents by damaging their health.[78]
According to the Right to Clean Air Platform Turkey the power stations have caused over 17 thousand premature deaths as of 2024.[6] The Health and Environment Alliance estimate almost one hundred thousand cases of bronchitis have been caused, mostly in children.[4] There is an air quality monitoring station in Elbistan, which is 22 km away from the power stations, and its data is public: however data from air quality monitoring 3 km from the power stations is not public.[4]
Health and Environment Alliance estimate that phasing out coal by 2030, instead of when the A and B power plant licences end in 2038 and 2052 respectively, would prevent over 2000 premature deaths.[79]: 14 There is a pollutant release and transfer register, but as of September 2024 no years are publicly searchable because it is not yet technically complete, and it is not known what pollution sources will be granted exemptions.(see FAQ).[80]Çoğulhan village has 3 times the SO2 level of Elbistan.[4]
Economics
According to Çelikler the A plant and mine employed 1450 people, mostly local, in 2024.[81]
The C plant was planned to operate for 35 years and was proposed to be funded by the Turkey Wealth Fund (TWF), the country's sovereign wealth fund, being a major partner.[82] This is in accordance with the energy policy of Turkey, which prioritises local sources of energy to reduce coal and natural gas imports, partly in order to maintain energy security. Verus Partners advised on finance,[83] but despite low production costs,[84] the private sector was not interested, as the coal is low-quality. The TWF claimed the plant would have an economic life of 35 years,[85] create "serious employment",[27] and Vice President Fuat Oktay said in 2020 that it would reduce the current account deficit.[86]
Ali Öztunç, local MP and environment spokesperson for the main opposition Republican People's Party, spoke out against the proposed C plant and asked in a parliamentary question why it should be built on agricultural land.[97] Environmentalists claimed the country already had too much electricity generating capacity[98] and contended that the plant would damage local water resources.[99] Environmental and public health groups criticised the proposed C plant EIA for describing coal as clean energy[100] and, in February 2020, thousands of people filed petitions against its approval:[101] but it was approved by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanisation in March.[102] In 2021 an expert report commissioned by the Maraş Regional Administrative Court said that the EIA positive decision given to Afşin-Elbistan C was faulty as it failed to accurately assess the project's environmental pollution and impact on agricultural activities, water basins and human health.[103] Environmental group TEMA Foundation said that, as Turkey had recently ratified the Paris Agreement to limit climate change, the plans to build the C plant should be immediately abandoned.[104] In 2021 the C plant was cancelled.
Public opinion
According to a 2020 survey from nearby Kahramanmaraş Sütçüimam University most locals say they have chronic illness, and almost all believe that environmental protection measures taken by power plant managers are insufficient.[105] Opponents of the plants say that: "a significant portion of the people living in Afşin Elbistan are struggling with cancer or respiratory tract diseases."[40]
^62 megatonnes would be emitted annually[45] if run at the targeted capacity factor, whereas Turkey's total annual emissions are less than 575 megatonnes.[89]By simple arithmetic 62 megatonnes is about 10% of 575+62 megatonnes.
^This power station aimed to generate just over 12.5 TWh (gross) per year.[90] The calculation in the EIA assumes an emission factor of 94.6 tCO2/TJ,[45] which is three times the average of about 30 for Turkish lignite, [91]: 50 but it is unclear whether this is the only reason the CO2 emissions per kWh were predicted to be very high. Since 2020, more stringent filtering of local air pollutants from the smokestack has been compulsory.[92] Moreover, although the average is about 2800,[93] the net calorific value of Turkish lignite varies between 1000 and 6000 kcal/kg. [91]: 59
^ abcd*Çınar Engineering Consultancy (March 2020). Afşi̇n C Termi̇k Santrali, açık Kömür İşletmesi̇ Ve Düzenli̇ Depolama Alanı Projesi̇ Nihai ÇED Raporu [Afşin C power station, open coal workings and regular storage area final environmental impact report] (Report) (in Turkish). Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning (Turkey). Atmosfere Verilecek CO2 Miktarı:Toplam Emisyon Miktarı (EM) = AD x EF x OF AD: Faaliyet Verisi (TJ, t veya Nm3) EF: Emisyon Faktörü (tCO2/TJ, tCO2/t veya tCO2/Nm3) OF: Yükseltgenme Faktörü ADKömür = 23.104.479,2 ton/yıl * 28,2 TJ/Gg = 651.546,3TJ/yıl EMKömür = 651.546,3 TJ/yıl * 94,6 tCO2/TJ * 1 = 61.636.279,98 tCO2/yıl "Atmosfere Verilecek CO2 Miktarı: ....... = 61.636.279,98 tCO2/yıl" [Amount of CO2 which will be emitted to the atmosphere:Total Quantity Emitted (EM) = AD x EF x OF AD: Activity Data (TJ, t veya Nm3) EF: Emission Factor (tCO2/TJ, tCO2/t veya tCO2/Nm3) OF: Oxidation Factor ADCoal = 23.104.479,2 ton/year * 28,2 TJ/Gg = 651.546,3TJ/year EMCoal = 651.546,3 TJ/year * 94,6 tCO2/TJ * 1 = 61.636.279,98 tCO2/year]