Selçuk Ilıkcan, CEO of GEO Energy Holding, said that geothermal energy is 1 in 8 cheaper than natural gas. Emphasising that this is the oil of Türkiye, Ilıkcan said, “There is a potential to heat 5-6 million households by using new technologies.”
Investor interest in geothermal, the heat energy consisting of mineral water, steam and gases extracted from the depths of the earth’s crust, is increasing in the world and in Türkiye GEO Energy Holding CEO Selçuk Ilıkcan said that the world’s need for energy is boosting and Türkiye’s demand has risen 3 times compared to OECD averages and emphasised that geothermal is important with its storable, renewable, uninterrupted and environmentally friendly features.
45 degree drying, 500 degree nuclear…
Pointing out that each degree of heat reached by drilling appeals to different areas of use, Ilıkcan explained these areas as follows: “Geothermal is not a temperature, but a resource that expresses the temperature difference according to the location. For example, when you reach 40 degrees, you do air conditioning and fish farming at 10 degrees.”
“Again, you can start greenhouse heating at 35 degrees, food drying at 45-50 degrees, industrial drying at 60 degrees in factories. At 90 degrees, you can start generating electricity and at 150 degrees, you can produce green hydrogen. There are currently researches in the world that can replace nuclear at 400-500 degrees. You can use geothermal for different purposes at every temperature until it cools down. Geothermal is also used as a substitute for natural gas in Europe, its use for heat purposes is very common in Europe,” Ilıkcan noted.
300 megawatt investment…
Highlighting that Türkiye’s 2030 plan is to ramp up the capacity of 1,700 megawatts in geothermal to 3 thousand megawatts, Ilıkcan added, “We are in demand for 300 megawatts of that 3 thousand. We use AGS technology in drilling. There are 1-2 companies in the world. The USA, Germany, China and Turkey use it. We are one of them.”