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The closing meeting of the Sustainable Biomass Use Project took place on November 28, 2024, at the Elite World Grand Sapanca Hotel. The event was attended by national and international stakeholders, public and private sector representatives, and academics.
Opening Session
The program commenced with opening speeches by Marco Matteini, Industrial Development Officer at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and Dr. Şerafettin Çakal, Deputy Director General of the General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies (TAGEM).
Panels
“A Green Light for the Future of Sustainable Energy” Panel
Moderated by Prof. Dr. Selim Sanin from Hacettepe University, the panel featured the following speakers:
İlker Özata from the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources,
Önay Geylan, UNIDO Project Coordinator,
Prof. Dr. Feryal Karadeniz, Deputy General Manager of Göknur Gıda A.Ş.,
Zafer Çelik, Project Director at Mersin Elektrik.
The discussions focused on the future of renewable energy resources and the role of biomass in this transition.
““Beyond Borders: The Role of Women in Driving the Renewable Energy Revolution” Panel
Moderated by Ayşen Toksöz Ünalan from UNIDO, the panel included the following speakers:
Ebru Uzun, Biologist from the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change,
Betül Yücel Parlak, Gender Equality Expert from If Consultancy,
Özde Hamarat, HR Director at BORUSAN Holding.
The panelists shared insights on gender equality, women’s leadership, and the role of women in the renewable energy sector.
Technical Presentations and Project Outcomes
The program continued with technical presentations:
Merve Demir from TEMSAN presented the “BIOTEM (Mini Biogas Project)” and screened the project video.
Muhammed Gökalp from TAGEM shared findings on “Capacity Building and Legal Framework Analysis.”
Ersan Olcay Işın, UNIDO National Project Expert, delivered a detailed presentation on pilot projects.
Participants also watched video presentations showcasing the project’s activities and outcomes, which garnered significant interest.
Closing Remarks
The program concluded with speeches from Suat Yılmaz, Director of Crop Research at TAGEM; Ayşen Toksöz Ünalan, UNIDO Technical Expert; and Dr. Şerafettin Çakal, TAGEM Deputy Director General. They expressed gratitude to the project team and stakeholders, highlighting the project’s success in exceeding its initial goals. The speakers emphasized the significance of the project’s outcomes not only for today but also for the future, underscoring their importance for the scientific community and the sector.
The meeting ended with a Q&A session and feedback from participants..
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Launched in 2018 and funded by the GEF, the project was implemented in partnership with TAGEM and UNIDO, achieving results that exceeded expectations.
The project aimed to identify processes for converting agricultural residues and by-products from agro-industrial operations into biomass energy while mitigating their environmental impacts. By employing modern bioenergy technologies, the project sought to enhance the energy generation performance of the sector for its own energy needs.
The project focused on sustainable and replicable strategies for converting agricultural residues into clean energy, emphasizing the following four components:
Support for supply chains and energy facilities,
Legislative framework development,
Capacity building and awareness-raising,
Monitoring and evaluation.
Through project calls, 6 energy facilities and 7 supply chain projects received a total of $2.4 million in grants. The implementation of six innovative and highly replicable biomass energy conversion technologies resulted in an increase of 13 MW in installed biomass energy capacity, surpassing the initial target of 10 MW.
The project successfully achieved and exceeded its target of reducing 4.28 million tons of CO2 equivalent emissions, supported by high-performance and replicable pilot projects.
The project also provided training to over 600 participants, 30% of whom were women, from Provincial Directorates of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change; Provincial Directorates of Agriculture and Forestry; municipalities; and private sector employees across nine hubs in Manisa, Konya, Ankara, Bursa, Erzurum, Van, Samsun, İzmir, and Antalya.
Participation in national and international congresses, workshops, and fairs, including 13 fairs, created significant awareness among farmers and industry stakeholders.
The legislative work carried out under the project has been shared with all stakeholders and will serve as a foundation for future legal frameworks
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