Tuesday, August 08, 2023

Soma Deniş

New Soma Deniş Thermal Power Plant (2x255 MWe) evaluation As an investor venturing into the establishment of a cutting-edge thermal power plant utilizing Soma Deniş coal, we would meticulously opt for the time-tested and efficient Soma-B no-5-6 steam boilers, each boasting an impressive capacity of 165 MWe. Taking it a step further, we would elevate this fundamental design by integrating sizable E/P and FGD (Electrostatic Filter and Flue Gas Desulphurization) units, alongside advanced preheating units for coal dewatering. Our vision for the plant's location would take it to the northeastern section of the mine, situated on untouched, arid treasury land, rather than amidst the northwest forest. While acknowledging the absence of water in this chosen site, our strategic solution would entail establishing a comprehensive pipeline system to transport water from the nearby available water sources. Additionally, we would prioritize the construction of a state-of-the-art ash pond to ensure sustainable and eco-conscious disposal of waste materials. However, let's address the current reality. The power plant has been erected within the northwest forest, sandwiched between the Türkpiyale and Kayrakaltı villages, far from coal source. Consequently, this has led to challenges in the coal band conveyor transportation process, necessitating the use of trucks, which undoubtedly impacts overall efficiency and electricity cost. The mismatched CFB design, ill-suited for the high ash content and abundant water characteristics of this particular coal (with approximately 1000-1500 kcal per kg LHV), has resulted in an excessive reliance on fuel oil. Furthermore, the realization of a missing coal preheating unit came too late in the process, leading to its belated construction. Despite the efforts to keep the power plant operational, it is now running under constrained conditions. Regrettably, the counsel from invited foreign experts has often proven irrelevant and impractical. Compounding the situation, the foreign contractor completed the project and departed, leaving local young engineers to grapple with critical issues, causing substantial operational setbacks. In light of these challenges, the capacity mechanism and the addition of fuel oil have inadvertently contributed to the inefficiency of the new power plant. Historically, Turkey has progressed in the field of coal technology with technical support and investments from foreign countries. Naturally, there can be variations in technological and industrial developments among nations. Some countries have invested in coal technologies earlier and are more advanced, while others may have less experience in this area. However, technological advancements are continuously evolving, and every country can enhance its technological capabilities through original research and development efforts. Turkey, too, can work towards developing its own coal technologies and nurturing local experts. This process can be supported through research and development activities, contributions from universities, private sector support, and government investments. Instead of comparing ourselves to other countries' levels of advancement, we can assess our own potential and progress by devising appropriate strategies. By doing so, we can cultivate our own experts in coal technologies and enhance our technological independence. Ankara, 1st August 2023

EMRA

What does EMRA do? The Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA) has been operating as the regulatory and supervisory body of Turkey's energy sector since 2001. It is responsible for regulating and overseeing energy markets such as electricity, natural gas, LPG, petroleum, and renewable energy. The main objective of EMRA is to ensure that energy resources reach consumers in a high-quality, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly manner. EMRA is funded through license fees collected from energy production and distribution companies. For example, in 2018, EMRA received significant license fees from prominent natural gas distribution companies like BOTAŞ. These fees are generally included in energy prices and passed on to consumers. The institution also has a broad legal team to develop regulatory guidelines for energy markets. However, EMRA’s structure and functioning have occasionally faced criticism. Some have pointed out that similar organizations like Ofgem in the UK operate more efficiently with a smaller and less complex setup. Additionally, concerns have been raised regarding the predominance of legal experts on the EMRA’s board and the limited number of engineers, leading to potential shortcomings in handling technical matters and oversight. EMRA’s levies substantial license fees from producer companies to perform its licensing and monitoring duties. To fulfill these responsibilities, it maintains an extensive and experienced legal team. License fees are passed on to consumers through electricity prices. EMRA utilizes the funds obtained from license fees to regulate and supervise energy markets. Its budget and expenses are subject to approval and audit by the Ministry of Finance. Moreover, the Court of Accounts (Sayıştay) and the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) have the authority to audit the institution's expenses. After covering personnel salaries and office expenses, EMRA transfers the remaining funds to the treasury. This ensures that its revenues and expenditures are under control, and budget discipline is maintained. Pursuing unnecessary expenditures to avoid transferring funds to the treasury is not feasible due to legal regulations, and the institution is expected to adhere to ethical principles. Observations and criticisms indicate that EMRA requires structural transformation. Implementing necessary reforms to make the institution more effective, efficient, and technologically competent can aid EPDK in becoming a more efficient regulatory body. Ankara, 8th August 2023.

Saturday, July 29, 2023

Akbelen forest and Obsolate thermal power plants

Akbelen Forests and Obsolate power plants Despite the resistance of the local villagers on 740 decares of land in the Akbelen forests, the forest administration is cutting beautiful trees under the protection of the gendarmerie. Since the beginning of the week, approximately 20 thousand beautiful trees have been cut down. Locals are protesting the actions of Turkish company YK Energy, which aims to expand its open pit coal mine to feed the Yeniköy (2x210 MWe) and Kemerköy (3x210 MWe) power plants, which already have criminal records for non-compliance with environmental norms. The FGD and ESP investments of the power plants were made before and after the privatization. It was known that the lignite coal has poor quality with 2000-2100 kcak/kg LHV, 20% ash, 36% moisture, 1.9% sulphur. Coal reserves were running low at the mine site during the privatization in 2014, when the open mining field reserves of the plants were exhausted, they had to switch to the more expensive underground mining. In fact, the coal production licenses cover a very large area, and since the production has become very expensive, the state forest administration has taken the gendarmerie behind them, allowing the tree cutting to start in the Akbelen forest. Yeniköy power plant was put into operation in 1986. a hard-working, almost 40-year-old power plant with problems in design. They were privatized whereas they should have been closed and sold as scrap. The companies that sell and buy knew the power plants were too old and to be scrapped. Kemerköy power plant is situated by the sea, already far from the coal field. The electricity produced in both plants was expensive capacity mechanism support was given. Environmental rehabilitations were exempted for a while. Afforestation was carried out, the yield was below acceptable sector figures, everything was done wrong, mistakes continue to be made, these scrap power plants have completed their economic life. They will work as long as they can, they will stay with those that pollute the environment, then they will be replaced. renewable, storage wind and solar hydro power plants. Disturbing the people of the environment to such a degree will cause them public relations, the closure of the sources of financial funds and a negative image transformation. Datça 28 Temmuz 2023

Saturday, July 22, 2023

Syria

The process of securing a contract in Syria, 1994, OpEd I visited the capital city of Syria, Damascus, for the fifth time in 1994, alongside Jeff Green, the British General Manager of the American-Turkish joint venture company I was working for. There was a need for a new water-tube steam boiler by the Syrian public oil refineries. The United States had imposed an embargo on Syria at the time. However, Canada had not, so our company's Canadian division could have submitted a bid. We prepared the bid on their behalf in Ankara, Turkey. We attended site visits and customer meetings posing as employees of the Canadian company. One of us (Jeff) was British, and the other (myself, the author) was a Turkish citizen. It didn't matter, as the bid was submitted on behalf of the Canadian company. Once we secured the contract, everything - the design and manufacturing - would be carried out by us in Ankara. Canada would receive $50k for acting as an intermediary. Our Syrian Armenian representative, George Seropian, whose ancestors had fled from Maras province in 1915, would be paid $25k. The final bid price was $1.7m. The water-tube boiler had a steam capacity of 55 tons per hour, producing 20-bar superheated steam. We had completed a similar project before, so the design was ready. For us, it was an easy bid. We had submitted our bid on our previous visit and faced competition from German, French, and Chinese firms. The Chinese company was disqualified due to inadequate quality. We offered the shortest delivery time at the lowest cost. One of the members of the evaluation committee brought up an item in the tender specifications. They requested the operation and maintenance manuals. These manuals are typically prepared specially for the end-user customer personnel at the time of final delivery of the product, not at the contract stage. All we could do was promise to provide them. However, we found ourselves in a bind on how to provide these manuals, which we were told to deliver by the next business day. We returned to the office of our representative in Damascus. It was after business hours, and the secretary had gone home. Due to the seven-hour time difference, our Canadian office was still in operation. There was no possibility of making a phone call. The Syrian Intelligence Service was listening in and connecting calls late. The internet did not exist at the time. We sent a short fax to our Canadian office requesting them to fax us the essential pages of the operation & maintenance manual for a similar project. The incoming fax would first go to the Syrian Intelligence Service, and if they approved it, it would be forwarded to us. The fax machine started up at midnight, and pages of the operation & maintenance manual began to arrive from our Canadian headquarters. We received 20 pages of hard-to-read text. Jeff and I took turns at the computer, retyping the faxed text. We added new information specific to Syria, revisited the boiler description, and copy-pasted the non-existent parts from other texts. We corrected spelling and expression errors, and by dawn, we had completed about 100 pages of the new operation and maintenance manual. We added images, printed them out, made photocopies, and bound them into a book using spiral binding. By morning, ten sets of operation and maintenance manuals were ready. We handed them over to our representative, who went to the public company office with great joy and submitted them. The next day, we signed the contract. We sold the product at a higher price than the domestic market. We manufactured it in less than a year and shipped it from Mersin to the Latakia port. We charged extra for the installation at the refinery. We made a good profit. The refinery was in the northeastern corner of Syria. Now, that area is in ruins. It's no longer under the control of government forces. Who knows who controls it now? Educated Syrians are no longer there. They have fled the country. That lucrative market is gone for us. It will take decades to re-establish. In the world of business, we sell goods and services when there is peace in the region. We provide employment and investment, and we earn money. In times of war, only arms dealers make money. War traders, arms manufacturers don't live in these regions themselves. War only benefits them. The best companies with the latest technology make money. The people of our region involved in the war fight each other and only suffer. There is no winning side. War drains all resources from all sides. If you want to avoid war, you must always be ready for war with deterrent power. We have to put Altay's new-generation battle tanks into mass production. We have to build better ones than F16 fighter jets. We must produce better unmanned aerial vehicles and missiles than Patriot and S-400 surface-to-air missiles. We must educate and train military command staff in the best way possible to manage human resources well in times of a war environment. In this difficult geography, we have no choice but to do all this and more to survive. During the Syrian order process, we learned that one must be flexible and adaptable in international business. Despite the late-night scramble to create operation and maintenance manuals, we made it work. We had to tap into our resources, think on our feet, and utilize what we had. In the end, we successfully secured the contract.  We also realized the significance of local partnerships in navigating the intricacies of foreign markets. George Seropian, our representative, was crucial in assisting us to understand the Syrian business environment, especially regarding the embargo. We recognized the importance of cross-cultural negotiation, working with Canadians, Americans, Syrians, and British partners, all while operating as a Turkish company. Beyond the practical business skills, this experience offered a profound lesson about the geopolitical forces that shape global business. The Syrian civil war has had a disastrous impact on its infrastructure and economy. We had witnessed Syria's transformation from a thriving marketplace to a war-torn landscape, showing us how fast fortunes can change due to political instability and conflict. It taught us the need to continually reassess risk and stay informed about global events. The relationship between peace and business was starkly clear. War not only devastates lives and societies, but it also disrupts and destroys economic activity. The only "beneficiaries" are the war traders and arms manufacturers who profit off the miseries of others. In response to such a complex geopolitical environment, one must foster peace and stability. But at the same time, a nation must have the capacity to defend itself. This requires investment in technology and education to ensure a country's military capability. This isn't about promoting war, but about discouraging potential aggressors through the show of strength. We returned from Syria, both enriched and sobered by our experiences. The contract, though profitable, was more than just a business venture—it was a lesson in adaptability, partnership, geopolitics, and the indelible link between peace and prosperity. The memories of this experience continue to influence our strategies and decisions, making us more resilient in an unpredictable global business landscape. Datça 22- July 2023

Thursday, July 20, 2023

Power outage in Datça

Power outage at Datça Peninsula, Muğla Turkey The Datça Peninsula experienced a serious power outage on the night of July 16, 2023, around 10 PM. The power returned the following morning, only to go out again in the afternoon. This pattern of daily power interruptions continues. We followed the situation on social media, which revealed significant impacts on businesses and daily life. Crucial goods that required cold storage spoiled, forcing major markets to close. The quality of food in restaurants deteriorated, and tourists chose to leave, leading to vacant hotels. Domestic food supplies also spoiled, and electrical devices sustained damage. Water pumps ceased to function, leading to water cuts, and the lack of power also disrupted the internet, telephones, and POS devices, effectively halting daily life and the local economy. The Datça Peninsula does not have a thermal power plant, but it does boast numerous wind and solar energy facilities. The electricity produced from these sources typically meets the peninsula's demand, except during July and August when the population significantly increases due to vacationers. Dares Res and Datça Fernas generate 41.6 Mwe and 12.5 Mwe of electricity, respectively. This production capacity is sufficient for the peninsula, but reinforcement of the power transformers and regulation of air conditioning units are required for efficient electricity distribution. In addition to the wind energy investments in Datça, there are also small-capacity rooftop solar energy systems for residential and greenhouse use. Many vacationers meet their hot water needs through simple solar systems, saving on direct electricity usage. However, in the summer months, when temperatures exceed 40C, constant use of air conditioners in homes, businesses, and markets overload the distribution transformers, causing them to malfunction. Hopefully, necessary upgrades and improvements will be made to the existing transformers without much delay. Policies for combating climate change and constructing a sustainable future are of vital importance. However, these policies can carry significant financial risks alongside their environmental benefits. Renewable energy investments highlight the financial risks of climate policies. Another significant financial risk created by climate policies is the phenomenon of "stranded assets". In recent years, numerous coal companies in the United States have gone bankrupt due to decreasing demand and increasing environmental compliance costs driven by climate policies and the transition to clean energy. This situation shows that industries reliant on fossil fuels, and those investing in them, face potential financial risks in transitioning to a low carbon economy. The US serves as an example of how changing political priorities respond to climate policies and how these changes impact financial risks. In recent years, the US's climate change and renewable energy policies have varied greatly based on different administrations' priorities. This variability creates uncertainty for investors and businesses and has hindered the growth of the renewable energy sector at times. Carbon markets and emission rights pricing are another significant financial impact of climate policies. The European Union's Emission Trading System (EU ETS) provides a concrete example of how fluctuations in emission rights prices can impact investors and businesses. Such variations in carbon prices can pose substantial financial risks, especially for businesses with high carbon emissions. Climate policies can also have adverse effects on local communities and workers. For instance, local communities operating in the fossil fuel industries may face job losses and economic uncertainties due to the energy transition. Considering the social impacts of climate policies implies that policymakers need to take measures to protect local communities and workers from adverse effects. Creating new job opportunities in the renewable energy sectors, retraining workers, and support programs to assist communities in managing the economic transition can be effective strategies in this regard. From market volatility to policy uncertainty, social impacts to stranded assets, a range of factors form the intersection of climate policies and financial risks. Careful assessment and management of these risks are vital for businesses and economies to maintain financial stability while supporting a sustainable future. Datça example gives us serious lessons about the implementation and management of new renewable energy policies. If the event is not taken seriously, the local economy will be affected and damaged. The development of the economy is a whole, the agriculture, industry and tourism sectors cover all of them, and when there is no electricity, they will all be affected. Datça 20- July 2023
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