Invest News DetailDunya – Türkiye’s adoption of renewable sources to fuel its growing economy is best evidenced in the rising number of hydropower plants in the country. There are 600 ongoing hydroelectric power plant projects in Türkiye, according to the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA), which tracks and regulates the Turkish energy market. Construction work has started on 575 of the hydropower projects throughout Türkiye, and many more are on the way, as EMRA has already granted 116 new licenses to generate electricity from hydraulic resources in the first 8 months of the year. The total number of licenses to be granted in 2011 is expected to reach 150, exceeding 2008’s 143 licenses, the highest ever on record. Since 2003, a total of 812 licenses have been granted to companies seeking to invest in hydraulic resources, while today there are 236 hydropower plants partially or totally on stream, including the ones belonging to the state-owned Electricity Generation A.S. (EUAS). The total capacity of the under-construction plants is projected to reach 15,000 MW. Investors tend to choose Türkiye’s Black Sea region for hydropower plant investments, thanks to the abundance of resources and favorable geography. The Black Sea region’s 250 hydropower plant projects are followed by the Eastern Anatolia region, with 110 projects. 104 projects of this kind are also being built in the Mediterranean region, while 44 are underway in the Central Anatolia region, 26 in the Southeastern Anatolia region, 20 in the Aegean region, and 16 in the Marmara region. A rough estimate puts the total investment cost of ongoing hydropower projects in Türkiye at between USD 15 billion and USD 22 billion, as USD 1-1.5 billion is required for a 1000-MW power plant.