Emba Hunutlu power station

Emba Hunutlu power station is a 1320 MW coal fired power station in Turkey[1] in Adana Province.[2][3] As of 2022 it is the largest Chinese foreign direct investment in the country.[4] Despite opposition from many environmental organisations the plant was started up in 2022 and burns Russian coal as it is cheaper than other coal.[5][6][4] The plant is less than 2 km from another coal-fired power station, İsken Sugözü.[7]

Emba Hunutlu power station
Country
  • Turkey
Coordinates36°48′58″N 35°51′17″E
StatusUnder construction
Construction began
  • September 2019
Construction cost
  • $2,100 million
Owner(s)
Employees
  • 500
Thermal power station
Primary fuel
Cooling source
Power generation
Nameplate capacity
  • 1,320 MW
Annual net output
  • 4,016 GWh (2022)
External links
Websiteembapower.com

History

The project was proposed in 2012.[8] In 2015 it was licensed, despite environmental protests,[8] and Shanghai Electric Power said it would be China's largest ever direct investment in Turkey.[9]

In April 2019 a Belt and Road Initiative deal was signed to build the 1320 MW power station[3] and construction started in September.[1] It is also part of Turkey's Middle Corridor.[10]

In June 2022 opposition Republican People's Party Adana deputy Burhanettin Bulut called for a Parliamentary inquiry, complaining that the power plant was about to be started up despite ongoing lawsuits and a one hundred thousand signature petition.[11][7]

Unit 1 started up in July 2022 and the other unit in October.[4]

Ownership

The project is a joint venture between Shanghai Electric Power (a subsidiary of China's State Power Investment Corporation), Avic-Intl Project Engineering Company (3%), and two Turkish local investors, Mete Bülgün, CEO of the joint venture and Adnan Demir (9.4% each)[12][2] with Shanghai Electric Power holding 78%.[12]

Finance and economics

The finance is 20% capital[13] and the rest a 15-year $1.381 billion loan from China Development Bank, Bank of China and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.[3][14]

In 2021 Turkey targeted net zero carbon emissions by 2053.[15] According to Banktrack the project is struggling with finance.[12] However others say the builders will make a profit.[16]

Subsidies

By 2020, according to Carbon Tracker, both new wind and solar power were cheaper than building new coal power plants; and they forecast that wind would become cheaper than existing coal plants in 2027, and solar in 2023: so they say that constructing the plant is a waste of money.[17] However the company benefited from value-added tax exemptions of almost 3.5 billion lira[18] in 2016.[19] WWF say it will make a loss.[20]

Construction

Test piles have been constructed[21] and in April 2019 Shanghai Electric Power said that "the successful signing of the facility agreement indicates that the project construction will enter into a fast-growth period".[3] However construction of the coal silos was delayed.[22]

Employment

The company says it will employ 4000 people in construction and 500 in operation.[2]

Design and specification

The thermal power station would have 2x660 MW Ultra Super critical units with steam pressure of 27 MPa and reheat steam temperature of 600°C.[2]

Coal supply
See also: Coal in Turkey

Imported coal is stored in 3 large sea side silos,[23] and the plant can also run on local coal.[24]

Electricity generation
See also: Electricity sector in Turkey

Efficiency

The design is for gross efficiency up to 46% with a gross coal consumption rate less than 270 g/kWh (7000 kcal/kg LHV standard coal).[2]

Cooling system

The plant would be cooled by water from Iskenderun Bay.

Waste products

Nitrogen Oxides

The selective catalytic reduction is designed to be more than 70% efficient, and according to the company will reduce NOx emissions to less than 100mg/Nm3.[2]

Sulfur Dioxide and Dust

The design is for a combination of electrostatic precipitators, flue-gas desulfurization and wet scrubbers to reduce dust emissions to less than 5mg/Nm3.[2]

Mercury

Mercury was not mentioned in the Environmental Impact Assessment but has been estimated at 175.5 kg/year.[25]

Health and safety

A public meeting was due to be held in January 2022 to discuss the environmental impact report for Emba Hunutlu, with the owners now adding 43 MW of wind and 37 MW of solar (the electricity for use on site),[26][27] to the 1320 MW of coal power which had been due to open in 2021.[28] The company say that they devote themselves to building a power plant with "no pollution".[29] But environmental groups estimate that air pollution from the power station would cause an extra 50 early deaths per year.[25] Another estimate is that closing the plant by 2030, instead of when its licence ends in 2064, would prevent over 5000 premature deaths.[30]

The company has published safety guidelines.[31]

Environmental effects

An expert report in 2020 concluded that the plant would be contrary to the İskenderun Bay (Adana-Mersin-Hatay) Integrated Coastal Areas Plan's principles,[32] and opponents say it contravenes the Biodiversity Convention. [33]

Water

According to WWF-Turkey the project threatens the loggerhead sea turtles and green sea turtles which nest on nearby Sugözü Beach. Quoting the project environmental impact assessment as saying that the outgoing cooling water will be 7°C higher than the sea water, they say temperatures could exceed 35°C in summer and be fatal to the turtles.[34] Coal shipments and delivery might also disturb the turtles.[35]

Dust

As of 2019 Turkey has no legal limit on fine particulate (PM2.5) emissions. The Health and Environment Alliance say that TurkStat figures show respiratory diseases have already increased in Adana Province, and that could be due to other coal-fired power stations.[34]

Greenhouse gases

Shanghai Electric Power Company says it is "sustainable power generation"[36] but the power station will increase Turkey's greenhouse gas emissions: if operational according to its design capacity factor and lifetime it will emit over 200 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.[35]


Opposition

TEMA Foundation filed a lawsuit in 2017[37] and in 2018 several other organisations under the grouping of Doğu Akdeniz Çevre Platformu (East Mediterranean Environment Platform) were in ongoing legal action in Ankara.[38]

See also

References
  1. "China's power plant project with direct investment in Turkey starts construction". www.xinhuanet.com. Archived from the original on September 24, 2019. Retrieved 2019-09-25.
  2. "EMBA Electricity Production Co. Inc". EMBA Elektrik Üretim A.Ş. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  3. "SEP Completes Facility Agreement Signing for Turkey Hunutlu Thermal Power Plant Project under Belt and Road Initiative". Shanghai Electric Power. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  4. "Turkey's new power plant exposes 'huge contradictions' of net zero pledge". Financial Times. 2022-07-27. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
  5. "Chinese private company wants to build a coal power plant on protected beach in Iskenderun Bay, Turkey". Health and Environment Alliance. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  6. "China's Banks Asked to Stop Funding Turkey's Coal Industry". www.bloomberg.com. 10 June 2020. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  7. "Hunutlu Termik Santrali itirazlara rağmen faaliyete hazırlanıyor: 'Davayı beklemiyorlar'". soL (in Turkish). 2022-06-08. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
  8. "EMBA Hunutlu power station". Global Energy Monitor. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  9. "SEP Turkey Hunutlu Coal-fired Power Project Ratified". Shanghai Electric Power. 9 July 2015.
  10. "A Chinese coal plant highlights Turkey's flawed energy policy". China Dialogue. 2020-09-03. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  11. ""Çevre kirliliği ile boğuşan Adana, zehir soluyacak"". yeniadana.net (in Turkish). Retrieved 2022-06-24.
  12. "Emba Hunutlu coal power plant". Banktrack. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  13. "Tendering Notice" (PDF). Emba. 26 September 2016.
  14. "SEP Completes Facility Agreement Signing for Turkey Hunutlu Thermal Power Plant Project under Belt and Road Initiative". www.shanghaipower.com. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  15. "Turkey to follow up climate deal ratification with action: Official". www.aa.com.tr. Retrieved 2021-10-03.
  16. Ergenç, Ceren; Göçer, Derya (5 May 2023). "China's Response to Türkiye's Volatile Authoritarianism". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
  17. "WIND VS COAL POWER IN TURKEY/SOLAR PV VS COAL IN TURKEY" (PDF). Carbon Tracker. 2020.
  18. "Thermal power plant worth $1.7B to be established in Adana". Daily Sabah. 26 October 2017.
  19. "Coal & Climate Change - 2017," Önder Algedik, Aug 2017
  20. Yenilenebilir Enerji Çağında Kömürün Fizibilitesi: Hunutlu Termik Santrali Örneği [The Feasibility of Coal in the Age of Renewable Energy: The Case of Hunutlu Thermal Power Plant]. www.wwf.org.tr (Report) (in Turkish). Retrieved 2021-05-28.
  21. "Adana Emba Hunutlu Thermal Power Plant Project". HNMZemin. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  22. "ESI to Engineer Three 100,000m³ Coal Silos for EMBA Hunutlu Plant". Power Technology | Energy News and Market Analysis. Retrieved 2019-09-01.
  23. "ESI to Engineer Three 100,000m³ Coal Silos for EMBA Hunutlu Plant". Power Technology | Energy News and Market Analysis. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
  24. "Are Turkish environmental groups alone in criticizing the Beijing-Ankara economic integration?". Global Voices. 2021-08-11. Retrieved 2021-08-14.
  25. Myllyvirta, Lauri (2020). Air Quality and Health Impacts of the Proposed EMBA Hunutlu Coal Power Project (PDF) (Report).
  26. "ilan.gov.tr - Türkiye'nin İlan Portalı". www.ilan.gov.tr. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
  27. "Emba, Hunutlu Termik'i güneş ve rüzgarla hibrit santrale dönüştürecek". Enerji Günlüğü (in Turkish). 2022-02-03. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  28. "Hunutlu termik santralinde hibrit RES ve GES kurulacak". Yeşil Ekonomi (in Turkish). 2021-12-31. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
  29. "EMBA Electricity Production Co. Inc". embapower.com. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
  30. Curing Chronic Coal: The health benefits of a 2030 coal phase out in Turkey (Report). Health and Environment Alliance. 2022.
  31. "EMBA ELEKTRİK ÜRETİM A.Ş HUNUTLU TERMİK SANTRALİ TEHLİKELİ YÜK REHBERİ" (PDF).
  32. "Emba Hunutlu coal power plant". Banktrack. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  33. "Coal-Fired Plant in Adana May Cause 2,000 more Premature Deaths, Environmentalists Warn".
  34. "Çevrecilerden Hunutlu Termik tepkisi". Enerji Günlüğü. 26 April 2019.
  35. "Emba Hunutlu coal power plant -issues". BankTrack. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  36. "Work begins on $1.7bn, China-financed coal plant in Turkey - News - GCR". www.globalconstructionreview.com. Retrieved 2019-09-25.
  37. "Davalar". TEMA Foundation. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  38. "Bilirkişiden ‘termik santral halk sağlığını bozar’ raporu" Hürriyet, January 28, 2018
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