Turkey's coal policies and the evaluation of the economical contribution of the usage of clean coal technologies and it's impact on the environment

Energy, as the foremost indicator of wealth and economical growth, is taking a leading role in the political structure of many countries. The whole world has come to an understanding that in order to maintain economical stability and sustainable development, it is necessary to implement an effective and environmentally conscious energy policy. Moreover, it is seen that while creating energy policies, countries need to consider the energy security as much as they consider its sustainability. Unfortunately for Turkey dependency of energy supply on import increasingly dependant on import decreas the security of energy resources. In Turkey, a country where demand for energy is increasing, supply is dependant on import and energy-based environmental problems are observed, it is necessary to commit to exploring local resources and research and development of technologies which increase energy productivity in order to provide a clean, reliable and inexpensive energy supply.For Turkey, the usage of coal means not being dependant on import, having export capacity, creating employment due to being a labour-intensive process and having a positive effect on balancing regional economics because it is widely available all over the country. In this study, the usage of coal in energy production and related technologies that will enable its usage by causing the least damage on environment have been explored.Key Words: Energy, coal, clean coal technologies