Afşin-Elbistan power stations

The Afşin-Elbistan power stations are coal-fired power stations in Afşin in Kahramanmaraş Province in Turkey. The area is a sulfur dioxide air pollution hotspot:[1] Air pollution can be trapped by the surrounding mountains,[2] and Greenpeace say that measurements they took nearby in late 2020 show illegal levels of particulates and nitrogen oxides.[3] The Environment Ministry has not released the flue gas measurements.[3]

Afsin-Elbistan Power Complex
See also: Climate change litigation § Turkey

As of 2022 the power station owners still want to build more coal-fired capacity, despite public opposition.[4]

Coal

Local lignite's calorific value is under 5 MJ/kg, which is a quarter of typical thermal coal.[5]

Afşin-Elbistan A
Afşin-Elbistan A before refurbishment

Afşin-Elbistan A power station is a 1355 MW lignite-fired power station, owned by Çelikler Holding, which was shut down in January 2020 due to local air pollution,[6] but reopened in later in 2020.[7] Head of the parliamentary home affairs commission, Celalettin Guveç, said in December that delivery of flue-gas desulfurization parts had been delayed by the covid-19 pandemic and that the filters would be installed by the end of March 2021.[8]

History

Brought online from 1984 to 1987 Afşin-Elbistan A is one of the largest installed capacity coal-fired power stations in Turkey and is estimated to emit over 8 Mt CO
2 per year,[9] over 1% of Turkey's greenhouse gas emissions. It was depicted on the reverse of the Turkish 5000 liras banknotes of 1990–1994.[10]

Technology

The plant burns lignite, which is transported by conveyor belt[11] from the nearby Kışlaköy coal mine. It was shut down for refurbishment in 2017. 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.[12]

Opposition

In January 2019 locals complained that the plant had been restarted causing visible ash pollution in the snow,[13] 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.[14] In March 2019 Greenpeace projected the message "These chimneys are spitting poison" onto the plant,[15] 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.[16] According to energy analyst Haluk Direskeneli, writing in 2019, flue-gas desulfurization is not installed and electrostatic precipitation is inadequate, and "it is futile to repair this power plant".[17]

In 2022 the Climate Change Policy and Research Association alleged that the plant was operating illegally according to environmental laws.[18]: 27 

Shutdown and reopening

The plant was shut down in January 2020 as it did not meet the flue gas emission limits which came into force that month.[19] Çelikler planned to have filters installed by June 2020.[20] The plant reopened but complaints of air pollution continued,[21] and in October 2021 it was said by opposition MP Ali Öztunç to be still operating without filters due to company lobbying.[22] In November 2020 the company said that the fuel oil system had been replaced by gas and dry flue gas filters had been completed and that they intended to complete wet flue gas filters in 2021.[23]

Afşin-Elbistan B

Afşin-Elbistan B power station is a 1440MW lignite-fired power station in Afşin in Kahramanmaraş Province in Turkey state owned by EÜAŞ. The plant burns lignite from Kışlaköy coal mine (mostly transported by lorry[24]) and sometimes from other mines.[25]

Built between 2004 and 2005 Afşin-Elbistan B is the largest single installed capacity coal-fired power station in Turkey and is estimated to emit almost 8 Mt CO
2 per year,[9] over 1% of Turkey's greenhouse gas emissions. Opponents said in September 2020 that ash retention filters are disabled on the pretext that they are expensive to clean.[26] An environmental impact report for proposed ash and slag storage was approved in 2020.[27] It is estimated that closing the plant by 2030, instead of when its licence ends in 2052, would prevent over 3000 premature deaths.[28] In 2021 it was reported that unit 3 had been converted to gas.[29]

Opposition

In December 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.[30]

Afşin-Elbistan C
This section is an excerpt from Afşin-Elbistan C power station.[edit]

Afşin-Elbistan C was a planned 1800-MW coal-fired power station which was proposed to be built in Turkey by the state-owned mining company Maden Holding. Estimated to cost over lira, at planned capacity it would have generated about 3% of the nation's electricity. According to the environmental impact assessment (EIA) the plant would have burned 23 million tonnes of lignite annually, and emit over 61 million tonnes of CO2 each year for 35 years.

However in 2021 Turkey targeted net zero carbon emissions by 2053.[31] It would have been the least carbon efficient coal-fired power station and the largest single emitter of greenhouse gas in the world. In March 2022 Kahramanmaraş Administrative Court stopped the project on the grounds of possible soil and air pollution - although this decision could be appealed to the Council of State (Danıştay).[32] In June 2022 the Kahramanmaraş Administrative Court canceled the 'EIA positive' report.[33]

In January 2023 the National Energy Plan was published: it forecast that 1.7 GW more local coal power would be connected to the grid by 2030 but did not say where.[34]: 15 

Mine

The Afşin Elbistan mine (also called Kışlaköy coal mine) is open pit and can produce 5 million tonnes a year.[35]

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.[36] Opponents of the plants say that: "a significant portion of the people living in Afşin Elbistan are struggling with respiratory tract or cancer diseases."[26]

References
  1. "Global SO2 emission hotspot database" (PDF). Greenpeace. August 2019.
  2. "STUDY BY GREENPEACE AND CREA: Two towns from Turkey among top five places with highest sulphur dioxide pollution". Bianet - Bagimsiz Iletisim Agi. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  3. "Greenpeace: Afşin-Elbistan zehir saçıyor". www.sozcu.com.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  4. "Kahramanmaraş'a kül yüzünden siyah kar yağıyor ama şirket termik santrali daha da büyütmek istiyor: Kömürlü termik santrale ek ünite projesine halk tepki gösterdi". Medyascope (in Turkish). 2022-04-28. Retrieved 2022-05-04.
  5. "Nuclear Power in Turkey | Nuclear Energy In Turkey - World Nuclear Association". www.world-nuclear.org. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  6. "Üç termik santral kapanabilir". Sabah (in Turkish). Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  7. "Coal-fired plants reopen: Engineers cast doubt on minister's statement that 'obligations fulfilled'". bianet. 17 June 2020.
  8. Sesi, Elbistanın. "Güvenç'ten FGD filtre ve göçük açıklaması". Elbistanın Sesi (in Turkish). Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  9. "Global coal power map". Carbon Brief. 26 March 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  10. Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey Archived 15 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Banknote Museum: 7. Emission Group – Five Thousand Turkish Lira – IV. Series Archived 16 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine. – Retrieved on 20 April 2009.
  11. "In Turkey, a Battle Over Coal Draws a Line in the Soot". Sierra Club. 2020-08-05.
  12. "Afşin Elbistan A Termik Santrali'nin atıkları depolanacak". Enerji Günlüğü. 17 December 2018.
  13. ""Termik santralin atıkları yüzünden siyah kar yağıyor"". 5 January 2019.
  14. "Aycan'dan Termik Santrallerin Çevre Kirliliğine Tepki". Yeşil Afşin. 9 January 2019.
  15. "17 bin erken ölümün nedeni termik santral". Birgün. 12 March 2019.
  16. "Global SO2 emission hotspot database" (PDF). Greenpeace. August 2019.
  17. Direskeneli, Haluk (2019-12-02). "Turkey: Energy And Infrastructure Forecast 2020 – OpEd". Eurasia Review. Retrieved 2019-12-04.
  18. "Çevre Mevzuatina Uyumsüreci Balaminda bir Decerlendirme" (PDF).
  19. "Erdoğan chooses the environment over thermal power plants". DailySabah. 7 January 2020. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
  20. www.kahramantv.com. "Mahir Ünal: Termik Santral Filtreleri Haziran'da Tamamlanacak". Kahraman TV (in Turkish). Retrieved 2020-01-28.
  21. "Six coal-fired plants continue to emit thick smoke after end of suspension". bianet. 2 July 2020.
  22. "Öztunç: "Paris İklim Anlaşması Tamam da, Filtresiz Santraller Ne Olacak?"" (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 2021-10-26. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
  23. "Afşin Elbistan A Santrali'nde çevre sistemleri, uluslararası standartlara sahip". Haberler.com (in Turkish). 12 November 2020. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  24. "Turkey: Energy And Infrastructure Forecasts For 2022 – OpEd". 29 November 2021.
  25. Direskeneli, Haluk (2021-10-06). "Coal Plant Without Coal: Only In Turkey – OpEd". Eurasia Review. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
  26. "British Afşin-Elbistan Environment Platform: "We don't want a thermal power plant" - Londra Gazete". Londra Gazete. 2020-09-16. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  27. "B Santrali'nin kül depolama alanlarına ÇED onayı". Elbistan Kaynarca Gazetesi (in Turkish). Retrieved 2021-10-16.
  28. Curing Chronic Coal: The health benefits of a 2030 coal phase out in Turkey (Report). Health and Environment Alliance. 2022.
  29. "Taşıma Kömürle Değirmen Dönmedi, B Termik Santralinde Üretim Durdu!". Yeşil Afşin (in Turkish). Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  30. "Ataç, Afşin Elbistan termik santrallerinin çevre yatırımları acilen tamamlanmalı!" [Ataç: Afşin Elbistan power plant environmental investments must be completed urgently]. Maraş Fisilti (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 2021-12-09. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
  31. "Turkey to follow up climate deal ratification with action: Official". www.aa.com.tr. Retrieved 2021-10-03.
  32. "Kahramanmaraş'ta mahkeme Afşin C Termik Santrali için yürütmeyi durdurma kararı verdi, bundan sonra ne olacak?" [Maraş court halts Afşin C power plant - what happens now?]. BBC News Türkçe (in Turkish). Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  33. "Afşin C Termik Santrali'ne 'ÇED olumlu' raporu mahkemeden döndü". Gazete Duvar (in Turkish). 2022-09-06. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  34. Türkiye national energy plan (PDF) (Report). Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources. 2022. ...it is predicted that 1.7 GW from domestic coal-fired power plants will be included in the system by 2030.
  35. "Coal production in Turkey and major projects". Mining Technology. 2023-04-06. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  36. "Afşin ve Elbistan İlçelerinde Toplumun Termik Santrallerin Çevreye ve İnsan Sağlığına Etkileri Konusundaki Görüşleri".

Sources

See also

Coal power in Turkey

38.3529°N 36.9845°E / 38.3529; 36.9845

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