MB Holding Board Chairman Muharrem Balat, the first private sector investor in geothermal electricity production, talked about geothermal to Ekonomist Magazine reporters.
MB Holding, which has investments in the Construction, Energy, Medical Textile, Construction, Tourism, and Construction Materials sectors, has invested 400 million dollars in Aydın, which it has chosen as the center for geothermal electricity production. It plans to expand these investments even further in the next two years. MB Holding, which has also started greenhouse farming by taking advantage of the geothermal investments in the region, is also preparing for a thermal hotel investment.
Balat is a businessman originally from Gaziantep. He is also on the city’s tax record holders list. The reason for investing in Aydın goes back 16 years. Balat, who stated that he came across geothermal fields as a result of the studies conducted by the MTA, noted that he obtained the necessary permits for investment after the liberalization process in the energy market in 2006. Muharrem Balat, who stated that they established Turkey’s first private geothermal power plant, said that they have currently started the investment of the DORA-4 geothermal power plant as Menderes Geothermal Electricity Production Inc. Balat, who said that they started the construction of 17 MWe in the first stage, stated that the new project is also located in the same region.
Muharrem Balat, who stated that they have made 25% of the 400 million dollar investment they have made since 2006 using equity and the rest using credit opportunities, states that they have a total installed power of 72 MWe. He says that the share of the Energy sector, which has a 60% share in turnover, will increase even more in the coming period.
Flagship: Energy
Muharrem Balat, the founder of MB Holding, which has achieved a turnover of 150 million dollars with 5 companies under its umbrella, took his first step in business life in 1968 in the construction sector with the Baltaş company. Balat has produced 30,000 houses for TOKİ with his contracting works to date. While the construction sector has been an important source of income for the company for a long time, in recent years the energy sector has become the flagship. He says that the share of energy, which has a share of 60% in turnover, will increase even more in the coming period.
We are Pioneers in Geothermal
Muharrem Balat, who is also the President of the International Geothermal Energy Association, says that geothermal energy is a very important resource for Anatolia but has not been fully transformed into an opportunity until now. Balat, who says that they have undertaken an important task by establishing the first private geothermal energy plant in Turkey as a company, notes that they have played a pioneering role in the development of geothermal energy in Turkey. Balat states that Menderes Geothermal Electricity Production Inc. set out with the aim of meeting the ever-increasing demand for electrical energy with alternative, environmentally friendly, renewable resources.
Muharrem Balat says that after the first geothermal power plant in Aydın, the 8.5 MWe DORA-1, they have reached a production power of 54 MWe, which is fully invested and sells energy. He also states that this figure will increase to 400 MWe with the completion of ongoing investments.
Two-thirds from Aydin
Muharrem Balat continues as follows; “By introducing geothermal energy, which is an environmentally friendly energy source, to the economy, we have reduced carbon dioxide emissions compared to energy production from similar carbon fuels, and we have also contributed to the reduction of foreign exchange inputs spent for oil. In numbers, the first project provides a carbon dioxide emission reduction of 32,000 tons per year, the DORA-2 project 45,000 tons, and the DORA-3 project 110,000 tons. With the DORA-4 project entering operation, all of the electrical energy needed by the facilities in Aydın will be provided by DORA facilities.”
Two-thirds of geothermal electricity production in Turkey is currently provided by Aydın. The total installed capacity of geothermal power plants in Turkey has reached 334 MWe. Muharrem Balat says that this figure will increase to 400 MWe throughout Turkey with the commissioning of investments in new fields in 2015. Balat states that the 2023 target is 1000 MWe.
Thermal Hotel to be Built
On the other hand, MB Holding also uses geothermal energy in agriculture. The tomatoes produced in Sultan Sera, which the company established in Aydın, are exported abroad. Muharrem Balat states that they sell half of the tomatoes produced here to the Netherlands. Balat adds that their goal is to increase Sultan Sera to a size of 160,000 square meters. Balat, who states that the steam from the current geothermal investments will also increase the greenhouse area, also states that new tourist facilities will be opened in the coming period to benefit from the steam. The first project in this regard is currently being developed.
MB Holding Board of Directors Chairman Muharrem Balat, who states that the target audience in this project is elderly European tourists, states that they are in talks with a Spanish architecture company for the hotel, which will cost 20 million dollars. Balat says that Aydın is close to ancient cities with important cultural heritage, in addition to its geothermal assets, and therefore will attract the attention of tourists. Balat also notes that the hotel they will build will be close to DORA Geothermal Electricity Production Facilities.
Gaziantep Hilton to Open in October
MB Holding has already taken its first step in this area in Gaziantep before the hotel it will build in Aydın. The hotel, construction of which began in this province a year and a half ago, will open next October. MB Holding Board Chairman Muharrem Balat says that the hotel, which was built with an investment of 18 million dollars on Gazi Muhtar Paşa Boulevard in central Gaziantep, will be operated by Hilton. Balat says that the 107-room hotel will make a significant contribution to the city’s tourism and economic life.
