Norwegian energy group Statkraft, has completed a 102 megawatt hydropower plant in Turkey's Corum province located in the Black Sea region.
Turkey's Energy Minister Taner Yildiz along with Statkraft CEO Christian Rynning Tonnesen attended the opening ceremony of the company’s second hydro project in Turkey, on Wednesday.
Statkraft entered Turkey's energy market in 2009 and completed the construction of its first hydro power project with 20 megawatts of capacity in 2010. The company’s third hydro plant, located in the Siirt and Bitlis province in Turkey's southeast, with 517 megawatts of capacity is expected to be finished next year.
After three-and-a-half years in the construction phase, the completed Kargi Kizilirmak Hydro Plant is planned to generate 470 gigawatt-hours of renewable electricity a year.
In 2007, Turkish Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA) gave Statkraft a 49-year electricity generation license and permission to construct and operate the plant.
-10 billion Turkish lira investment in 1H15
Speaking during the opening ceremony, Yildiz announced that in the electricity generation market 10 billion Turkish liras ($3.42 billion) of investment was carried out in the first half of 2015.
In the same period, about 2,000 megawatts of power capacity, 90 percent of which was renewable energy, was added to the Turkish sector.
Reporting by Ugur Serhan Ozcan, Writing by Zeynep Beyza Karabay
Anadolu Agency
zeynep.karabay@aa.com.tr