TÜBA Reports on Alternative Energy Sources
TÜBA continues its efforts to conduct studies and provide consultancy in order to determine scientific priorities. In this context, TÜBA, which focuses on Türkiye's priority issues, shared the "Alternative Energy Sources and Natural Gas Logistics Report" published under the editorship of Prof. Dr. İbrahim Dinçer, Executive Director of TÜBA-Energy Working Group and Full Member of the Academy, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. M. Akif Ezan with the public.
Production methods adopted in industry threaten natural balances.
TÜBA President Prof. Dr. Muzaffer Şeker stated that it is among the primary duties of the Academy to carry out reporting and scientific publication activities for Türkiye’s science strategy and to share these studies with relevant institutions and individuals, and emphasized that the report clarifies many complex issues with its different perspective on energy.
President Şeker said: "Under the negative impact of climate change, the production methods adopted in the industry by ignoring the principle of sustainability threaten the natural balance. This situation leads to the rapid depletion of natural resources and the deterioration of ecosystems. In particular, the intensive use of fossil fuels increases carbon emissions, strengthening the greenhouse effect and deepening the effects of global warming. Failure to adopt a sustainable industrial policy undermines our responsibility to leave a livable world for future generations. In this context, it has become an inevitable necessity for both governments and the private sector to move towards environmentally friendly production methods and invest in green technologies. Although the steps to be taken have always been brought to the agenda on national and international platforms, it is clear that sufficient progress has not been achieved."
Şeker pointed out that many topics in the "Workshop on Efficiency in Natural Resources and Alternative Energy Solutions" program include existing problems and solution methods. He said that the rapid depletion of natural resources and intense competition over these resources have caused many setbacks in the international arena as well as environmental waste. "From a global perspective, managing resources in a fair and sustainable manner is critical both environmentally and in terms of international relations. Therefore, this issue should be considered in multiple dimensions, from health to economy and from international relations to security. With the workshop we organized, we collected the studies of leading academics and experts in the field on how much efficiency can be achieved from natural resources and the least damaging methods in the report. I would also like to emphasize that such a detailed study is important for all stakeholders." President Şeker also informed that the report can be accessed on the TÜBA web page.
Prof. Dinçer said, "In the workshop, which includes academics as well as managers of various public and private institutions, energy experts and external stakeholders, expert participants, including TÜBA members, shared technical information on the research and use of alternative energy sources in Türkiye and the TRNC, as well as innovative systems that use natural gas and hydrogen energy together. In addition to technological exchanges, the energy geopolitics in the Eastern Mediterranean and its islands and the legal rights of our country and the TRNC in their regions were also discussed. In the panel session titled "Challenges and Opportunities in Natural Gas and Alternative Energy Options", the steps that TRNC and Türkiye should take in the near and long term in the field of energy, technological and geopolitical factors were evaluated together."
In the first part of the report, the status of our country's energy sectors and the projections for 2035 and 2053 were evaluated within the framework of the "Türkiye National Energy Plan" report prepared by the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources in 2023 and the Presidency's annual program for 2023.
In the following sections, the potential role of unconventional hydrocarbons in the sector, efficiency in energy systems, the role of the Turkish Energy, Nuclear and Mineral Research Organization in Türkiye’s energy solutions, hydrogen energy solutions and the natural gas ecosystem, natural gas transportation and trade in Türkiye’s national transmission system, economic sustainability of alternative energy sources, LNG use and logistics in the TRNC, energy geopolitics in the Eastern Mediterranean and its islands, Türkiye’s natural gas and renewable energy options and sustainability were discussed respectively.
In the last section, a roadmap for a 5-year (2025-2030) conceptual project proposal for synthetic natural gas production for Türkiye and TRNC was shared. Then, the steps to be taken in terms of the multifaceted development of the energy sector for Türkiye and TRNC were presented.