Abstract:

Energy is a significant matter in the generation of wealth and plays an important role in economic development which makes energy resources extremely important in the world. Nevertheless, energy generation has caused various kinds of problems. This study, therefore, intended to deal with the solution proposals to the environmental impacts of Small Hydropower Plants (SHPs) in Turkey. To this goal, Turkey's energy sources and demand, and the potential of SHP to meet this demand are briefly reviewed. The main reasons for environmental problems related to the application of SHP projects in Turkey are discussed with some case studies. Most of them are obtained from field reconnaissance studies during administrative law views in Turkey. In this context, the main environmental problems, including environmental flow, cumulative effects of various SHPs in a basin, environmental destruction, etc., are studied. The causes of public backlash to SHPs are especially focused. The main reasons for the public backlash are classified into three categories; related to construction and operation of the plants and cumulative impacts of various SHPs. Depending on the results of various case studies, some possible solutions, to solve the environmental problems and to mitigate the public backlash, are presented at the end of the paper. The main outcome of this study is to provide some solutions to the environmental impacts of SHPs.

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