| Abstract |
First geothermal exploration & investigations in Turkey started by MTA in 1962. Throughout this process, 230 geothermal fields have been discovered by MTA (Mineral Research & Exploration General Directorate). No. 5686 "Law on Geothermal Resources and Mineral Waters†was enacted in 2006 and by this law, geothermal fields, discovered by the MTA (Mineral Research & Exploration General Directorate) are transferred to investors through a tender process. Almost 10 years after the change of law; with support of the Government, today Turkey is the 4th geothermal power producer in the World ranking. Turkey has taken its place in the history by presenting the fastest growth in geothermal power production in the World. From the other side of the development process, the significant slowdown in new geothermal exploration activities is observed due to the inappropriate risk allocation and lack of commercial debt finance to private sector. Assess to finance is generally not available for investors until the geothermal resource has been validated through drilling. Since MTA generally no longer performing the high-risk exploration, it is observed that the exploration rate of the new sites decreased. As the exploration drilling process creates the highest financial risk for the geothermal investor, the insurance mechanisms aim to facilitate private sector investments in geothermal exploration projects. Budget in the research process and external financing are directly related to exploratory objectives, targeted resources, use of the resource. Exploration Drilling Insurance Mechanism, also known as risk sharing mechanism, has been attracted great interest from developers in Turkey; however the fact that the renewable energy feed in tariffs will end in 2020 has prevented many applications to insurance mechanism. It is evaluated that the energy supports, coordinate with insurance mechanisms, is key factor in increasing potential renewable energy sources. |