Turkey opts for wind energy

Akbýyýk village in Yeniþehir found an alternative way of generating its own electricity after the Turkish Electricity Distribution Company (TEDAÞ) cut the electricity of the villagers who could not pay their bills, which totaled 33,000 Turkish Liras, 1.5 years ago, Doðan news agency (DHA) reported Sunday.

The villagers, after conducting research about alternative sources of energy, proposed a wind farm to the Bursa Provincial Administration nearly a year ago. After the wind power project was approved for nearly 160,000 liras, the village started to produce approximately 50 kilowatt-hours of electricity and was able to pump water to homes.

Kemal Demirel, secretary general of the provincial administration, said wind turbines in Turkey were run by private companies, but this particular wind farm belonged to the villagers, according to DHA. The wind power project was completely funded by the administration.

“They have no electricity expense at the moment,” said Demirel, adding that the same project would be implemented in other Bursa villages in the future.

“We already paid our debt to TEDAÞ, and now without needing any other company, we are generating our electricity freely,” said Mustafa Çiçek, the village’s headman.

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