IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/renene/v89y2016icp649-657.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Renewable electricity in Turkey: Life cycle environmental impacts

Author

Listed:
  • Atilgan, Burcin
  • Azapagic, Adisa

Abstract

This paper applies a life cycle approach to evaluate for the first time the environmental impacts of renewable electricity in Turkey. There are 305 power plants utilising hydro, wind and geothermal resources, all of which are considered in the study. The results indicate that the impacts from large reservoir hydropower are lower than for the small reservoir (by 45%–72%) and run-of-river hydropower (by 74%–84%). The exceptions are the global warming potential (GWP) and summer smog which are two times and 45% higher for large than small reservoir, respectively. Onshore wind is the worst option overall, with nine out of 11 impacts higher than for hydropower and geothermal. However, its GWP is 9 times and 11% lower than for geothermal and large reservoir, respectively. Acidification from geothermal is 281 times higher than for wind power. Geothermal is the best option for six impacts. Large reservoir has the lowest depletion of elements and fossil resources as well as acidification. Small reservoir and run-of-river plants are the best and geothermal the worst options for the GWP. The majority of the annual impacts from the renewable electricity mix are from hydropower with the exception of acidification which is largely from geothermal electricity.

Suggested Citation

  • Atilgan, Burcin & Azapagic, Adisa, 2016. "Renewable electricity in Turkey: Life cycle environmental impacts," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 649-657.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:89:y:2016:i:c:p:649-657
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2015.11.082
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148115304985
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.renene.2015.11.082?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Raadal, Hanne Lerche & Gagnon, Luc & Modahl, Ingunn Saur & Hanssen, Ole Jørgen, 2011. "Life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the generation of wind and hydro power," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(7), pages 3417-3422, September.
    2. Pascale, Andrew & Urmee, Tania & Moore, Andrew, 2011. "Life cycle assessment of a community hydroelectric power system in rural Thailand," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 2799-2808.
    3. Greening, Benjamin & Azapagic, Adisa, 2013. "Environmental impacts of micro-wind turbines and their potential to contribute to UK climate change targets," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 454-466.
    4. Simsek, Hayal Ayca & Simsek, Nevzat, 2013. "Recent incentives for renewable energy in Turkey," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 521-530.
    5. Baris, Kemal & Kucukali, Serhat, 2012. "Availibility of renewable energy sources in Turkey: Current situation, potential, government policies and the EU perspective," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 377-391.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Gemechu, Eskinder & Kumar, Amit, 2022. "A review of how life cycle assessment has been used to assess the environmental impacts of hydropower energy," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    2. Saule Baurzhan & Glenn P. Jenkins & Godwin O. Olasehinde-Williams, 2021. "The Economic Performance of Hydropower Dams Supported by the World Bank Group, 1975–2015," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-22, May.
    3. Saule Baurzhan & Glenn Jenkins & Godwin O. Olasehinde-Williams, 2021. "The Economic Performance of Hydropower Dams Supported by the World Bank Group, 1975–2015," Working Paper 1463, Economics Department, Queen's University.
    4. Burcin Atilgan Turkmen & Fatos Germirli Babuna, 2024. "Life Cycle Environmental Impacts of Wind Turbines: A Path to Sustainability with Challenges," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-23, June.
    5. Alizadeh, Sadegh & Avami, Akram, 2021. "Development of a framework for the sustainability evaluation of renewable and fossil fuel power plants using integrated LCA-emergy analysis: A case study in Iran," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 1548-1564.
    6. Briones Hidrovo, Andrei & Uche, Javier & Martínez-Gracia, Amaya, 2017. "Accounting for GHG net reservoir emissions of hydropower in Ecuador," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 209-221.
    7. Oliver O. Apeh & Edson L. Meyer & Ochuko K. Overen, 2022. "Contributions of Solar Photovoltaic Systems to Environmental and Socioeconomic Aspects of National Development—A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-28, August.
    8. Volkart, Kathrin & Weidmann, Nicolas & Bauer, Christian & Hirschberg, Stefan, 2017. "Multi-criteria decision analysis of energy system transformation pathways: A case study for Switzerland," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 155-168.
    9. Ismail Abubakar Jumare & Ramchandra Bhandari & Abdellatif Zerga, 2019. "Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Grid-Integrated Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems in Northern Nigeria," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-24, October.
    10. Gkousis, Spiros & Welkenhuysen, Kris & Compernolle, Tine, 2022. "Deep geothermal energy extraction, a review on environmental hotspots with focus on geo-technical site conditions," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    11. Diana L. Ovalle Flores & Rafael Peña Gallardo & Elvia R. Palacios Hernández & Carlos Soubervielle Montalvo & Adalberto Ospino Castro, 2024. "Holistic Analysis of the Impact of Power Generation Plants in Mexico during Their Life Cycle," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-20, August.
    12. Kim Maya Yavor & Vanessa Bach & Matthias Finkbeiner, 2021. "Resource Assessment of Renewable Energy Systems—A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-19, May.
    13. Zhang, Xiaoyue & Huang, Guohe & Liu, Lirong & Li, Kailong, 2022. "Development of a stochastic multistage lifecycle programming model for electric power system planning – A case study for the Province of Saskatchewan, Canada," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    14. Melikoglu, Mehmet, 2016. "The role of renewables and nuclear energy in Turkey׳s Vision 2023 energy targets: Economic and technical scrutiny," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 1-12.
    15. Milousi, Maria & Souliotis, Manolis, 2023. "A circular economy approach to residential solar thermal systems," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 207(C), pages 242-252.
    16. Elif Oğuz & Ayşe Eylül Şentürk, 2019. "Selection of the Most Sustainable Renewable Energy System for Bozcaada Island: Wind vs. Photovoltaic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-33, July.
    17. Mahmoud G. Hemeida & Ashraf M. Hemeida & Tomonobu Senjyu & Dina Osheba, 2022. "Renewable Energy Resources Technologies and Life Cycle Assessment: Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-36, December.
    18. Hosseini, Seyed Mohsen & Kanagaraj, N. & Sadeghi, Shahrbanoo & Yousefi, Hossein, 2022. "Midpoint and endpoint impacts of electricity generation by renewable and nonrenewable technologies: A case study of Alberta, Canada," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 22-39.
    19. Yashuang Feng & Lixiao Zhang, 2023. "The GHG Intensities of Wind Power Plants in China from a Life-Cycle Perspective: The Impacts of Geographical Location, Turbine Technology and Management Level," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-17, March.
    20. Riccardo Basosi & Roberto Bonciani & Dario Frosali & Giampaolo Manfrida & Maria Laura Parisi & Franco Sansone, 2020. "Life Cycle Analysis of a Geothermal Power Plant: Comparison of the Environmental Performance with Other Renewable Energy Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-29, April.
    21. Abbas, Tahir & Ali, Ghaffar & Adil, Sultan Ali & Bashir, Muhammad Khalid & Kamran, Muhammad Asif, 2017. "Economic analysis of biogas adoption technology by rural farmers: The case of Faisalabad district in Pakistan," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 431-439.
    22. Cartelle Barros, Juan José & Lara Coira, Manuel & de la Cruz López, María Pilar & del Caño Gochi, Alfredo & Soares, Isabel, 2020. "Probabilistic multicriteria environmental assessment of power plants: A global approach," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    23. Sarker, Swati Anindita & Wang, Shouyang & Adnan, K.M. Mehedi & Sattar, M. Nahid, 2020. "Economic feasibility and determinants of biogas technology adoption: Evidence from Bangladesh," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    24. Song, Cuihong & Gardner, Kevin H. & Klein, Sharon J.W. & Souza, Simone Pereira & Mo, Weiwei, 2018. "Cradle-to-grave greenhouse gas emissions from dams in the United States of America," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 945-956.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Akhil Kadiyala & Raghava Kommalapati & Ziaul Huque, 2016. "Evaluation of the Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Hydroelectricity Generation Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(6), pages 1-14, June.
    2. Mahmud, M.A. Parvez & Farjana, Shahjadi Hisan, 2022. "Comparative life cycle environmental impact assessment of renewable electricity generation systems: A practical approach towards Europe, North America and Oceania," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 1106-1120.
    3. Gallagher, John & Styles, David & McNabola, Aonghus & Williams, A. Prysor, 2015. "Making green technology greener: Achieving a balance between carbon and resource savings through ecodesign in hydropower systems," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 105(PA), pages 11-17.
    4. Mahmure Övül Arıoğlu Akan & Ayşe Ayçim Selam & Seniye Ümit Oktay Fırat & Merve Er Kara & Semih Özel, 2015. "A Comparative Analysis of Renewable Energy Use and Policies: Global and Turkish Perspectives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(12), pages 1-29, December.
    5. Xuerong Li & Faliang Gui & Qingpeng Li, 2019. "Can Hydropower Still Be Considered a Clean Energy Source? Compelling Evidence from a Middle-Sized Hydropower Station in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-13, August.
    6. Briones Hidrovo, Andrei & Uche, Javier & Martínez-Gracia, Amaya, 2017. "Accounting for GHG net reservoir emissions of hydropower in Ecuador," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 209-221.
    7. Kaplan, Yusuf Alper, 2015. "Overview of wind energy in the world and assessment of current wind energy policies in Turkey," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 562-568.
    8. Song, Cuihong & Gardner, Kevin H. & Klein, Sharon J.W. & Souza, Simone Pereira & Mo, Weiwei, 2018. "Cradle-to-grave greenhouse gas emissions from dams in the United States of America," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 945-956.
    9. Mahmud, M.A. Parvez & Huda, Nazmul & Farjana, Shahjadi Hisan & Lang, Candace, 2020. "Life-cycle impact assessment of renewable electricity generation systems in the United States," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 1028-1045.
    10. Lombardi, Lidia & Mendecka, Barbara & Carnevale, Ennio & Stanek, Wojciech, 2018. "Environmental impacts of electricity production of micro wind turbines with vertical axis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 128(PB), pages 553-564.
    11. Burcin Atilgan & Adisa Azapagic, 2016. "Assessing the Environmental Sustainability of Electricity Generation in Turkey on a Life Cycle Basis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-24, January.
    12. Bulut, Umit & Muratoglu, Gonul, 2018. "Renewable energy in Turkey: Great potential, low but increasing utilization, and an empirical analysis on renewable energy-growth nexus," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 240-250.
    13. Asdrubali, Francesco & Baldinelli, Giorgio & D’Alessandro, Francesco & Scrucca, Flavio, 2015. "Life cycle assessment of electricity production from renewable energies: Review and results harmonization," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 1113-1122.
    14. Gemechu, Eskinder & Kumar, Amit, 2022. "A review of how life cycle assessment has been used to assess the environmental impacts of hydropower energy," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    15. Mendecka, Barbara & Lombardi, Lidia, 2019. "Life cycle environmental impacts of wind energy technologies: A review of simplified models and harmonization of the results," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 462-480.
    16. Suzer, Ahmet Esat & Atasoy, Vehbi Emrah & Ekici, Selcuk, 2021. "Developing a holistic simulation approach for parametric techno-economic analysis of wind energy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    17. Fangyi Li & Zhaoyang Ye & Xilin Xiao & Dawei Ma, 2019. "Environmental Benefits of Stock Evolution of Coal-Fired Power Generators in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-17, October.
    18. Abolhosseini, Shahrouz & Heshmati, Almas & Altmann, Jörn, 2014. "A Review of Renewable Energy Supply and Energy Efficiency Technologies," IZA Discussion Papers 8145, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Aroonrat, Kanit & Wongwises, Somchai, 2015. "Current status and potential of hydro energy in Thailand: a review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 70-78.
    20. Emblemsvåg, Jan, 2022. "Wind energy is not sustainable when balanced by fossil energy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 305(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:89:y:2016:i:c:p:649-657. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/renewable-energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.