POMPAJ DEPOLAMALI HİDROELEKTRİK SANTRALLERİNİN TÜRKİYE İÇİN ÖNEMİ

As one of the main inputs and most important tool in production activities, energy is among inevitable means in achieving people's economic and social welfare. For this reason, it is necessary that the energy needs as a result of rising life standards and increasing population are met sufficiently, reliably and at affordable costs. While, the Pumped Hydroelectric Energy Storage (PHES) system, one of the renewable energy resources, was once planned to cover the peak energy demands, nowadays it can also be used for the purpose of storing energy. Prior to the use as a renewable energy resource, the PHES systems were generally operated at pump modes during nights. That is at times of low energy costs or low energy consumptions and operated at turbine modes during peak demands. However; nowadays PHES systems operate for storing renewable energy resources or depending on their settings within a day, they can operate in a pump or turbine mode at every hour of the day. And with this in mind, new projects are planned and carried out. Generally speaking, all developed countries are in need of PHES systems in their energy portfolios. Turkey is particularly in acute demand of these systems now than any time ever, parallel with the developments of nuclear energy plants and renewable energy resources. This study investigates the current and future positions of PHES systems in Turkey and in the word as a whole.