Coal in Turkey

Coal supplies a quarter of Turkey's primary energy, and the country is one of the largest consumers in the world. The heavily subsidised coal industry generates over a third of the country's electricity and emits a third of Turkey's greenhouse gases.

Coal is a major contributor to air pollution, and damages health across the nation, being burnt even in homes and cities. Most coal is burnt in power stations, and it is estimated that a phase out of coal power in Turkey by 2030 instead of by the 2050s would save over 100 thousand lives. Flue gas emission limits are in place, but data from mandatory reporting is not made public.

Over 90% of coal mined in Turkey is lignite (brown coal), which is more polluting than other types of coal. Turkey's energy policy encourages mining lignite for coal-fired power stations in order to reduce gas imports; and coal supplies over 40% of domestic energy production. Coal burning peaked in 2018, and mining in 2022 at about 100 million tonnes. Most coal is imported, as in contrast to local lignite production, Turkey imports most of its bituminous coal from Russia. The largest coalfield in Turkey is Elbistan. Turkey is bidding to host the 2026 United Nations Climate Change Conference, in which getting agreement on coal phase-out will be very important.

History

Mining and industry

As the Ottoman Navy expanded its steam powered fleet in the 1840s to help defend the Ottoman Empire against the expanding Russian Empire, it became a national priority to find domestic coalfields. There are several apocryphal stories about the discovery of coal on the Black Sea coast in what is now Zonguldak Province. However, it is certain that the Ereğli Coal Mine Company started production in 1842 and that coal mined in Ereğli and Amasras.

In 1848 the Ereğli Coal Basin (now called the Zonguldak Basin) was mapped and claimed by Sultan Abdulmejid I, who later leased it, mainly to foreign merchants. The first customer of Turkey's coal industry was the Ottoman Navy. However, during the Crimean War in the mid-1850s, production was commandeered by the Ottoman Empire's allies, the British Royal Navy, and production increased by importing mining machinery and training Turkish miners. By 1875 the Ottoman Navy had become the third largest in the world and expansion of the mines attracted workers from outside the area, despite the dangerous conditions.

The mines in Zonguldak were shelled by Russia during World War I (WW1) to disrupt coal supply to Ottoman and German ships. The first coal-fired power station in Turkey, Silahtarağa Power Station (now SantralIstanbul culture center) opened in 1914, and after the destruction of the empire in WW1, and the subsequent Turkish War of Independence, the new Republic of Turkey industrialized further as part of Atatürk's reforms. Lignite from Soma supplied the army in WW1 and lignite mining began at several other coalfields in 1927. The Zonguldak coalfield remains the only national source of the hard coal which was historically necessary for steelmaking: its mines were nationalized in 1940. In the mid-20th century the state encouraged the growth of cement and steelmaking in Zonguldak. The first large coal-fired power stations were built in the late 1950s in two large lignite basins, Soma and Tuncbilek, and in the late 20th century many power stations were constructed near lignite fields such as Elbistan coalfield.

In the early 21st century there was a growing realization of the damage done by coal to public health. However, the Turkish government wished to avoid importing too much natural gas, which is a large part of the import bill, with supply dominated by Russia. The nascent environmental movement in Turkey was unable to prevent many more coal-fired power stations being built, but did stop some. After years of struggle by environmentalists standards, such as for flue-gas desulfurization, were finally improved at the end of the 2010s. As for steelmaking, most plants are now electric arc furnaces.

Residential heating and cooking

Starting in the 19th century, stoves took the place of wood burning ovens in traditional Anatolian houses. For heating, every room had a stove with a stovepipe or chimney. After the late 1970s, coke was reserved for use in institutions such as schools, and the more polluting but cheaper coal was supplied to households. Imports of natural gas started in the late 1980s and by the 2020s the pipeline distribution network had been extended to over 80% of the population. However, due to energy poverty, some of those people still use coal and the resulting air pollution causes illness and premature deaths. Most buildings constructed since the late 20th century have gas heating, not coal.

In the 2020s, in some provinces coal is still used for heating including public buildings, especially in rural areas, and even occasionally for cooking, although electricity and bottled gas are available everywhere. In 2019 TKI gave one and a half million tonnes of free coal (mostly from Alpagut Dodurga coal mine) to households with an average per person income less than one third of the minimum wage (less than 700 lira in 2020), even in neighborhoods which have piped gas. In winter 22/23 TKI distributed coal to schools and other educational institutions: this coal has to meet certain indoor heating air pollution limits. Indoor concentration of particulates is highest in the winter. Over three quarters of carbon monoxide deaths are due to stoves: almost 200 in 2017 mostly in poorer rural areas.

Coalfields and mines

Turkey was 11th in the list of countries by coal production, and mined 1.3% of the world's coal, with lignite and sub-bituminous deposits widespread throughout the country. Due to the country's geology, there is no hard coal, which has a higher energy density (over 7,250 kcal/kg), within 1000 m of the surface. All coal deposits are owned by the state but over half of mining is done by the private sector. In 2017 almost half of Turkey's coal production was mined by the state-owned mines, but the government is seeking an expansion of privatization. As of 2019, there are 436 coal mining companies such as Akçelik, 740 coal mines, and more mining and exploration licences are being tendered. However, some drilling companies are not bidding for licences because mineral exploration is more profitable and in 2018 many mining licences were combined with coal licenses. Mining is documented in the "e-maden" computer system ("maden" means "mine" in Turkish). Coal miners do not have the right to strike. A company called Tarhan Maden has proposed a mine in the district of Tavşanlı in Kütahya Province. Unions have complained of mines they say are unsafe, such as Kınık coal mine.

Hard coal

The Zonguldak basin in the northwest is the only coal mining region in Turkey that produces hard coal: about 2 million tons a year from mines including Kandilli, Amasra

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