Investor Yunus Arifoglu Ozturk from Azerbaijan has set up a greenhouse on 4.2 hectares of his 8 hectare land in the Germencik district of Aydin (Turkey), but he is disappointed that he can't make use of geothermal water nearby in the area.
Grower Yunus Ozturk: “I have been using coal for heating for the last 3 years because geothermal water is not distributed to my greenhouse, and obviously it has been extremely expensive. I have invested in Turkey with full trust in the laws, however, I see nobody is paying attention to the laws here. If this will continue, I will just shut down my greenhouses and go back to my country.
I set up this tomato greenhouse 3 years ago considering the benefits of having so many geothermal energy plants nearby, but these companies are not willing to sell me geothermal water. I have even applied to the presidential office in Turkey, hoping for a solution.
I have been exporting almost all the tomatoes I have grown here to Russia, so I’m contributing to Turkey’s exports, but geothermal energy plants are not providing me any hot water, even though legally hot water from these plants have to be used in greenhouses. We had made all our cost calculations accordingly. Using coal for heating brings around 200,000 USD of extra costs annually, not to mention the damage it does to the environment.
If I was given access to geothermal waters, my productivity would double and I'd be able to grow 2,500 tons annually, which would be mostly exported. I expect government officials to help me in solving this problem.”
Source: Hurriyet