The Effects of Small Scale Hydroelectric Power Plants Located in the Eastern Black Sea Basin in Turkey

Although the geopolitical position of Turkey has a great importance, Turkey is not able to benefit from its natural resources adequately and so the foreign dependency of energy is rising explosively. For this reason, an attempt is being made to increase energy production by constructing small scale hydroelectric power plants in Turkey. The Eastern Black Sea Basin is an important basin located in the northeast part of Turkey, with a high surface water potential. The unused water potential of this region, where there is a great amount of precipitation, was brought into use with the enactment of a law 2001. Under this law, the construction of numerous small scale plants was begun. In this study, the status of small scale plants, of which construction has started or is already completed as well as those in the project phase, were examined on a province by province basis for 2011, and the economical contribution of these plants to regional and national economy and the ecological effects were analyzed.