Biomass at Turkey

Biomass
Bioenergy is expected to play a significant role in Turkey, including biomass for heat and
electricity as well as transport biofuels. Biomass is important because its share of total energy
consumption is high in Turkey. The contribution of biomass resources to total energy
consumption dropped from 20% in 1980 to 8% in 2005. Biomass in the forms of fuel wood
and animal wastes is the main fuel for heating and cooking in many urban and rural areas.
The total biomass production was 7.3 Mtoe in 2005 and is expected to be 52.5 Mtoe in 2030.
Currently, it is estimated that Turkey has an established capacity of 135 thousand tonnes of
bioethanol and 1.1 Mtoe biodiesel. The Government’s plans for production of biofuels are
predominantly focused on biodiesel. Accordingly, the Turkish Petroleum Markets Law has
been amended to incorporate provisions relating to licensing and the percentage of which the
transport fuels should be blended with biodiesel. The Petroleum Market Law stipulates that
the biodiesel, in pure form or as a blend, should comply with the quality standards laid down
by EMRA regulations. EMRA is authorised to grant licences to producers. The Petroleum
Market Law also specifies the required biodiesel blending share as a minimum of two per cent
at the pump.