Aksa opens 270-MW coal power plant in Turkey

Aksa Enerji has opened a 270-MW power plant that will produce electricity using local coal resources for $390 million in the Göynük district of the Black Sea province of Bolu. 

Turkey's first power plant investment with the coal royalty will produce 2 billion kilowatt/hour (kWh) energy every year, the company stated in a press release on Aug. 14.

The power plant will meet around 1 percent of the country's total energy needs and around 1.8 million tons of local coal resources will be used in the power plant when lignite is added to the fuel combination, according to the press release. 

The power plant marks Turkey's first coal royalty investment since the Coal Operators' Board (TK?) opened up lignite coal fields to the private sector, Aksa also said. 

"The power plant will contribute to the Turkish economy by decreasing the energy dependency on foreign sources. The Göynük Power Plant will create 1,000 new direct and indirect jobs," said Aksa Enerji Chairman Cemil Kazanc?.