Do we need ILISU hydro electric power plant?

Dear All

PM told to the residents of Hasankeyf and to the nation that he would not allow the 12,000 year old Hasankeyf be buried under water with the building of the Ilısu Dam and Hydro Electric power plant and yet afterwards attended the cermonies for the start of construction of the dam.

Ajda Pekkan gave a concert at Hasankeyf last Sunday pleading for stopping the construction of the dam as presently designed.

Question, do we need ILISU?

ILISU is required for more electricity generation for sure. However is it necessary at that point with that capacity? That is the real question

ILISU could have been constructed a bit earlier with two individual hydroelectric dams instead of one unit , by this way you avoid unnecessary flooding of ancient sites, but that is costlier at this time.  Moreover you generate mush less electricity due to less water height. In future technology will obviously be improved and the construction will be cheaper, financing will be easier. Project could be more bankable.

It is not easy to declare that it is bad or good. You have choices. It is not so easy to judge from the other end of the globe that ILISU is bad.

Although every action we take, every time we move or speak, has some effect on the environment, it is the major effects that must be addressed if we are to act as responsible citizens of an all-too-fragile world.

We should design and supply which does have an appreciable effect on the environment around us. It should be our policy and our concern that any impact on the environment be minimized as best we know how.

We should continue to apply the best technical solutions to these concerns, with maximized local engineering capability and make best use of our local hydro, wind, solar, fossil fuel resources. We will not compromise our designs with inefficient solutions when we know a better way.

We should work with our customers and the community to provide the cleanest, safest, most up to date technology in the equipment that we supply.

We are citizens of this world and intend to act responsibly in it.

--
Haluk Direskeneli, Ankara based Energy Analyst