Limak to start last turbine at new 420 MW Çetin hydropower plant in Turkey

Production has started at three units in the 165-meter Çetin hydropower plant dam and Limak expects to bring another Francis-type turbine of 134.2 MW online soon.

Limak Energy is becoming the third-largest private player in the hydropower sector in its home country as the portfolio should top 1 GW this month. The company is about to put the fourth and final turbine at its Çetin facility into production. The hydroelectric plant on the Botan river in the southeast of Turkey is designed for 420 MW in total.

Two Francis-type turbines of 134.2 MW each have been commissioned so far together with one with a capacity of 17.2 MW. The first was launched in April. Local media learned from company officials that the last 134.2 MW unit should come online this month, after a small delay.

Limak acquired the project in 2017 after Statkraft quit due to fighting in the area

The Çetin hydropower plant is located in the districts of Şirvan and Pervari in Siirt province. Limak took over the project from Norway’s Statkraft in 2017. Works were halted in early 2016 as fighting intensified in the area between government forces and rebels from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party or PKK, forcing the foreign investor to write off the asset.

Limak has another eight hydroelectric plants, some of which are partnerships, with 648 MW in total.

The state-owned Electricity Generation Co. (EÜAŞ) is by far the largest domestic operator. It controls 12.28 GW in hydropower capacity in more than a hundred units. Its major project Ilısu was partly launched last month. Limak also trails Enerjisa and Cengiz Enerji, according to data from the end of last year.

There are several more hydropower projects in plan for the Botan river

Çetin is Limak’s third hydropower unit in the Botan system, as Alkumru and Kirazlı are located downstream. There are several more projects for the Tigris tributary.

The new hydropower plant has the largest roller-compacted concrete dam in Turkey, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Bekir Pakdemirli said. He noted the structure is 165 meters high and that it would hold 615 million cubic meters of water.

The structure, which will hold 615 million cubic meters of water, is the largest roller-compacted concrete dam in Europe, Minister Pakdemirli said

The lake will be 37 kilometers long and 12 kilometers wide. Pakdemirli said the power plant is expected to contribute EUR 66 to the national economy, chiefly with the output of 1.18 TWh per year. It should lift the company’s total annual hydropower production to 3.8 TWh.