These Clean Energy Projects Pollute More Than Coal Power Plants
- Turkey’s geothermal power plants release CO2, says EBRD study
- Country has set a target to install 1 gigawatt by 2023
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Geothermal wells usually provide a steady supply of clean energy flowing from the natural heat of the Earth. In Turkey, because of a quirk in the geology, some of those wells pollute as much as coal-fired power plants.
The nation has a layer of subterranean limestone, which lets loose carbon dioxide when it comes in contact with steam as hot as 280 degrees Celsius (536 Fahrenheit) tapped by geothermal wells, according to a report commissioned by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, a government-backed institution helping fund the projects.