Yatağan power station

From Global Energy Monitor
Part of the
Global Coal Plant Tracker,
a Global Energy Monitor project.
Download full dataset
Report an error
Related coal trackers:

Yatağan power station is an operating power station of at least 630-megawatts (MW) in Şahinler, Yatağan, Muğla, Türkiye. It is also known as Yatagan power station.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Yatağan power station Şahinler, Yatağan, Muğla, Türkiye 37.330905, 28.102377 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the power station.

Loading map...


Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

  • Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3: 37.330905, 28.102377

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name Status Fuel(s) Capacity (MW) Technology Start year Retired year
Unit 1 operating coal - lignite 210 subcritical 1984
Unit 2 operating coal - lignite 210 subcritical 1984
Unit 3 operating coal - lignite 210 subcritical 1986

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name Owner
Unit 1 Yatagan Termik Santrali [100.0%]
Unit 2 Yatagan Termik Santrali [100.0%]
Unit 3 Yatagan Termik Santrali [100.0%]

Financing

  • Source of financing: İş Bankası

Background

Yatağan is the oldest and least productive power station in Turkey. There are plans to expand its mining area.[1] The power station was reportedly financed by İş Bankası.[2]

Yatağan is among three plants - along with Yeniköy power station and Kemerköy power station - planned for rehabilitation in Muğla province, to extend the life of the plants by up to 30 years. Many residents oppose the rehabilitation.[3] In August 2021 the Ministry of Industry and technology granted 761 million liras for the modernization of the plant.[4]

As of March 2022, the plant employed 2,000 people and met 1.2% of the country's total energy need.[5]

According to April 2022 reporting, an 85 MW solar farm was slated for development at the Yatağan Thermal Power Plant site.[6]

In September 2022, according to advocates for the power station's closure, the plant had reached the end of its economic life. The power station was described as a "burden to the state" (Google translate) and was taking time and resources away from alternative, just transition opportunities.[7]

In June 2023, a coalition of 80 environmental organizations, Ekoloji Birliği, called for the closure of the power stations in Muğla by 2030.[8]

In July 2023, workers at the Yatağan power station were bargaining for higher wages, claiming that their current rate was below the poverty line.[9]

In August 2023, İkizköy residents made a press statement and applied to the Presidency for the immediate closure of Kemerköy, Yatağan and Yeniköy power stations. They stated that the power stations had been operating unconstitutionally since 1996.[10]

Environmental Impact

In February 2019 the Right to Clean Air Platform, a coalition of 17 professional organizations and NGOs, successfully campaigned to stop the Turkish Parliament from delaying stronger air pollution requirements for some old coal plants from 2019 until 2021.[11] The delay would have allowed Yatağan to continue to operate without a desulphurization system or modernised dust filters.[12] In November 2019 the Turkish Parliament approved a bill to extend the deadline for stronger emissions standards to 2021.[13] However on Dec. 2, 2019 President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan vetoed the bill and said this veto was motivated by "environmental sensitivity".[14]

As a result, Yatağan and other privatised coal power plants that have not completed the required infrastructure including filtration system must complete these requirements beginning Jan. 1, 2020 or these plants will face closure and/or fines.[15] In January 2020 the plant received a "temporary activity certificate" that will allow it to continue operating for six months despite its failure to comply with filtration requirements under Environmental Law 2872.[16]

As of May 2020 the plant was operating with a "temporary activity certificate" that will allow it to continue operating until January 2021 despite its failure to comply with filtration requirements under Environmental Law 2872.[17] In May 2020 Greenpeace applied to the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization to shut down Yatağan and eight other plants not in compliance with Environmental Law 2872 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the correlation between fine particulate pollution and higher mortality rates from Covid-19.[17][18]

In January 2022, the plant was operating with (Google translate) "an audit-exempt environmental permit and a temporary operating certificate". For one month where the air quality of the region was monitored for a study, the values ​​of PM 2.5 and PM 10 pollutants exceeded the World Health Organization limits twice. These measurements were attributed to the coal plants, including the Yatağan station, in the region.[19]

"Su Yaşamdır, Kömürlü Termik Santral Ölüm!"

In January 2023, a report from the Muğla Environment Platform, Ecology Union and Climate Justice Coalition stated that samples from agricultural products cultivated around the Yatağan power station contained contained high levels of heavy metals. Additionally, they claimed that the power station used 7.5 times more water than the total drinking water needs of Yatağan district.[20]

In November 2023, 465 local residents and organizations made a joint petition to the General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works (Devlet Su İşleri Genel Müdürlüğü (DSI)) demanding that DSI cancel the water allocations of Yatağan power station and Yeniköy power station. Article 7 of Turkiye's Regulation on Water Allocations reportedly required the prioritization of daily drinking water needs, and Muğla residents stated that water scarcity was a growing concern.[21]

Articles and Resources

References

  1. "Nature and history butchered for coal,", Hürriyet, 10 July 2017.
  2. "Coal & Climate Change - 2017," Önder Algedik, Aug 2017
  3. "The Real Costs of Coal: Muğla," CAN Europe, July 2019
  4. Yatagan termike 761 milyon liralik tesvik haberi, Dunya, Aug. 8, 2021
  5. Muğla'da termik santralin maden sahasına 1,5 milyon fidan dikildi, Yeni Safak, March 5, 2022
  6. Yatağan Termik Santrali sahasına 85 MW’lık güneş santrali kurulacak Enerji Gunlugu, April 22, 2022
  7. TERMİK SANTRAL ve MADENLERİ İSTEMİYORUZ, Solfasol, September 20, 2022
  8. Tayyibe Demirel: “Dokuz Senedir Zeytinlerimi Vermedim, Vermeyi Düşünmüyorum”, Ekoloji Birliği, June 11, 2023
  9. Yatağan termik santral işçileri: Ücretlerimiz yoksulluk sınırına göre hesaplansın, Evrensel, July 1, 2023
  10. "Muğla’daki 3 Termik Santralın Kapatılması için Cumhurbaşkanlığı’na Başvuruldu," Iklim Haber, August 25, 2023
  11. Step forward for health protection in Turkey: Proposal to extend the pollution exemptions given to privatised coal power plants withdrawn, Health And Environment Alliance, Feb. 15, 2019
  12. Turkish Parliament will vote about polluting coal power plants next week, Health And Environment Alliance, Feb. 1, 2019
  13. 50’inci madde kabul edildi, Yeşil Ekonomi, 22 Nov. 2019
  14. Erdoğan Vetoes Bill Postponing Installation of Filters to Coal-Fired Plants, Bianet, 02 December 2019.
  15. TBMM Plan Ve Bütçe Komisyonu, Santrallere Filtre Düzenlemesini Yeniden Görüştü, Meclis Haber, 4 December 2019.
  16. Anasayfa Gündem Haberleri Bakan Kurum'dan Bursa'yı da ilgilendiren termik santral açıklaması, Bursa Hakimiyet, Jan. 1, 2020
  17. 17.0 17.1 Koronavirüs döneminde filtresiz termik santraller kapatılmalı, Cumhuriyet, May 22, 2020
  18. Isabelle Garretsen, How air pollution exacerbates Covid-19 BBC, Apr. 27, 2020
  19. Yatağan'da hava kirliliği alarm veriyor DW, June 1, 2022
  20. Muğla Çevre Örgütlerinden Termik Santral Raporu: "Santrallerin Devamlılığı Halinde 30 Bin Futbol Sahası Büyüklüğünde Orman Alanı Tahrip Olacak" Son Dakika, January 18, 2023
  21. Su Yaşamdır Termik Santraller Ölüm MUÇEP, November 8, 2023

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.