The Role of Municipalities in Renewable Energy Transition: Providing Drinking Water Supply of Kocaeli Province with Renewable Energy

Abstract

The cost of electricity constitutes a significant part of municipal budgets. The decrease in renewable electricity generation costs allows municipalities to reduce their electricity costs and greenhouse gas emissions by investing renewable energy. A renewable energy transition facilitated by municipalities will positively affect and accelerate the energy transition in Turkey. In this study, the case of meeting the drinking water pumping station electricity consumption of Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality Water and Sewerage Administration (ISU) from renewable power plants owned by ISU is analyzed. The amount of avoided emissions from renewable power generation has been calculated. 37.06% of ISU's electrical energy in the drinking water supply is consumed in drinking water pumping stations. ISU has renewable power plants with a total installed capacity of 8.50 MW. The rate of meeting the electricity consumed by the electrical energy obtained from the renewable power plants owned by ISU and the electrical energy consumed in the drinking water pumping stations is increasing. While the ratio of electricity from renewable energy sources (RES-E) to meet the electrical energy consumed in drinking water pumping stations was 19.27% in 2019, this ratio reached 31.74% in 2022 with investments in renewable energy power plants. As a result of RES-E, 32,225 tons of CO2 emissions have been avoided.