Turkey's Energy Investments – Projects - Policies: An Overview Under Decision Making Approach

Authors : Ahmet Bahadır Şimşek

Pages : 96-101

View : 16 | Download : 10

Publication Date : 2016-01-30

Article Type : Research

Abstract :One of the never-ending discussion topics in today’s modern time is doubtlessly energy supply. Energy gained even more value with the industrial revolution; nowadays it maintains its importance as an element of strategic balance. Although energy resources are not dispersed homogeneously of the earth\'s surface, global demand for energy supplies is constantly increasing that allows energy to be used as a strategic weapon. Countries, which are dependent on foreign energy, are on the target of this weapon. Unfortunately, Turkey is one of those countries. By advances in technology, economical usage of alternative energy resources has been a glimmer of hope for energy-strapped countries. The overall interest for energy systems, producing energy just with the costs of installation and maintenance (without incurred resource costs), is increasing. Considering the fossil energy resource limits, the importance of renewable energy sources can be better understood. Turkey is not rich in fossil energy resources but has high potential for renewable energy sources. On the other hand, it has a geopolitical location that serves as a bridge between producer and consumer countries in terms of fossil energy resource transmission. It currently hosts various in-use and ongoing oil and natural gas pipeline projects. Turkey holds a unique position between Europe and Asia that has been playing a critical role for centuries. It should eliminate dependency on foreign energy for several reasons, for instance, survival in energy sector, increasing the power in energy domain, becoming a regional dominator. Turkey should establish stable policies and develop new investments and projects to provide the low-cost energy. That way, Turkey will have the chance to thrive, to reduce foreign dependence, to get rid of political pressure, and to protect its strategic importance. For these reasons, Turkey currently faces a multi-objective-decision-making-problem. Cases that deal with many conflicting objectives to reach the most appropriate decision-making are described as multi objective decision problems. For the solution of these problems, at first, objectives are determined, and then alternatives that serve those objectives are evaluated. The conflicting objectives are balanced by a set of alternative solutions that maximize total benefits. Assessing the energy investments, projects and policies with decision-making methodologies can be useful for revealing and interpreting the energy dynamics of Turkey.
Keywords : Turkey\'s Energy Investments