Geothermal
Geothermal energy is the heat energy stored inside the earth’s crust at various depths, some of which can be very shallow depending on seismic pressures and fissures in the earth’s crust. It is a clean and environmentally sustainable resource which is ready to play an increasing role in meeting the world’s urgent needs for clean energy.
When one thinks of geothermal energy, one typically thinks of steam geysers. This is not incorrect. But it is much more than this. Geothermal energy typically needs to be over 150 degrees centigrade and at sufficient pressure to spin a steam turbine to generate electricity – temperatures lower than this are useful, and would find utility in all means of heating – housing, district heating, greenhouses and other uses. These applications are highly viable and much more widely used than electricity generation, including in Turkey. The “renewable” principle of the energy source is simple. The water is re-injected back into the earth’s crust, and this recirculation is repeated over and over, returning hot water.
And while geothermal power may not have the headlines of wind and solar power, especially that at lower water temperatures, it is precisely in its “old faithful” moniker that geothermal heat distinguishes itself. The earth’s heat belt and seams of heat provide constant low maintenance hot water 24-hours a day, 365-days per year, enabling the sort of businesses we can engage in at Buhar Enerji.
Wind
The terms wind energy or wind power describe the process by which the wind is used to generate mechanical power or electricity. Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy in the wind into mechanical power. This mechanical power can be used for specific tasks (such as grinding grain or pumping water) or a generator can convert this mechanical power into electricity. So the working principle ofthe system is basiclly, a wind turbine works the opposite of a fan. Instead of using electricity to make wind, like a fan, wind turbines use wind to make electricity. The wind turns the blades, which spin a shaft, which connects to a generator and makes electricity...
The wind resource, how fast it blows, how often, and when, plays a significant role in its power generation cost. The power output from a wind turbine rises as a cube of wind speed. In other words, if wind speed doubles, the power output increases eight times. Therefore, higher-speed winds are more easily and inexpensively captured.
With increasingly competitive prices, growing environmental concerns, and the call to reduce dependence on foreign energy sources, a strong future for wind power seems certain. The Global Wind Energy Council projects global wind capacity will reach 536,000 MW by 2017, almost double its current size, with growth especially concentrated in the Asia and Europe. Turbines are getting larger and more sophisticated, with land-based turbines now commonly in the 3-5 MW range, and offshore turbines in the 7-8 MW range. The next frontiers for the wind industry are deep-water offshore and land-based systems capable of operating at lower wind speeds. Both technological advances will provide large areas for new development.
Solar
The amount of solar energy that the earth receives each day is many times greater than the total amount of all energy that people consume. However, on the surface of the earth, solar energy is a variable and intermittent energy source. The amount of sunlight and the intensity of sunlight varies by time of day and location. Weather and climate conditions affect the availability of sunlight on a daily and seasonal basis. The type and size of a solar energy collection and conversion system determines how much of the available solar energy we can convert into useful energy.
Photovoltaic solar energy plant is the appropriate substitute for the usual electrical energy which is used in houses for powering electrical appliances. Photovoltaic cells will capture the energy which is generated from the sun and get it converted into electricity. The process of energy conversion is clean and simple and it does not involve injecting any kind of smoke or harmful chemicals into the atmosphere. A lot of companies have decided to have grids containing photovoltaic cells installed on their premises so that they can derive the maximum amount of energy from them and also reduce their dependence on the traditional forms of electrical energy. So Photovoltaic Power Plants work like;
- Photovoltaic processes happen with PV devices, which take the sunlight and make it into electricity.
- PV processes use materials that are known for naturally changing sunlight into electricity, which are known in the science world as semiconductors.
- When the sunlight hits these semiconductors, they produce electrons, which are pushed through the device and make a current.
Natural Gas
Combined heat and power is a type of power plant (CHP). Technically, this is a type of cogeneration facility, in which a single cycle of electricity is generated and the heat that is produced goes into a secondary use, such as greenhouse heating. Some competitors in Turkey, in fact, are de facto operating on CHP-type systems, whereby power plants are providing electricity to manufacturing operations and derivative heat is being given to adjacent greenhouse projects. CHP is ubiquitously used in the Dutch greenhouse industry, where flower and vegetable producers top up sales margins for their traditional products with sales of (subsidized) electricity. In Turkey, no such electricity sales will be subsidized, but clearly, with the additional benefits of the heat and the CO² for fertilization, CHP will likely become increasingly popular for greenhouse producers, especially given the outlook for Turkish electricity prices.
Agriculture
Our greenhouse, owned by our company DoDomates, where we plan to grow best tasting tomato product in Turkey, Russia and the Middle East, will be a state of the art facility, operated by an international grower-partner, and will produce some 5,000 tons of top quality tomatoes per year in the first full year of production. Expansion plans would take this to 25,000 tons on 50 hectares. Top quality will be defined by “us” as a partnership – the international grower-partner, DoDomates, the food retailer. We aim to build seed-to-store confidence between “us” with constant dialogue and input. Food safety, taste and sustainability are our ethos. Global and domestic food markets continue to be challenged and demand greater security. While European markets, despite more scrutiny and regulation still struggle occasionally, consumers and more sophisticated retailers in markets such as Turkey and Russia are adopting tighter standards of their own. Our growing practices will be a step ahead to exceed official standards and lead the market through innovation and dialogue with stakeholders.
Do Domates Greenhouse Facility will be heated through the winter months and cool fall and spring evenings with the geothermal well we have onsite, and when it is particularly cold, this heat source will be topped up with heat from the combined heat and power plant (natural gas) facility onsite. This power plant will also provide the fertilizer, CO² , needed to help the tomatoes grow.
Agricultural Funds
There are many funds that invest in multi-asset classes, but in recent years, there are a growing number of specific funds whose investment target is the agricultural sector; these include both public and private investors. What is driving this trend? Primarily, the international community now recognizes that the investment returns in the sector make business sense in terms of risk versus reward. Furthermore, investors are expecting to increasingly benefit from investments in the agricultural sector in the medium and long term, since demand for food and other agricultural products will further increase. In particular, high population growth and longer life expectancies, increases in the purchasing power of the population in some emerging economies, and renewable energy consumption all present opportunities for increased returns in the agricultural sector
While use of investment funds is not a new phenomenon in the financial world, what is new is the growing interest in using these investment structures to exclusively target developing world agriculture. Agricultural investment funds are being used by both the public and the private sectors. Agricultural investment funds have in some instances been structured to meet the altruistic aims of combating hunger and poverty, but private sector investors are increasingly recognizing that the investment returns in the agricultural sector can now be viable in terms of risk versus reward. The successes of these funds are best shown by the results of their individual investments.
Real Estate
Real estate is property comprised of land and the buildings on it, as well as the natural resources of the land, including uncultivated flora and fauna, farmed crops and livestock, water and mineral deposits. Although media often refers to the "real estate market," from the perspective of residential living, real estate can be grouped into three broad categories based on its use: residential, commercial and industrial. Examples of residential real estate include undeveloped land, houses, condominiums and town houses; examples of commercial real estate are office buildings, warehouses and retail store buildings; and examples of industrial real estate include factories, mines and farms.
There are four types of real estate:
- Residential real estate includes both new construction and resale homes. The most common category is single-family homes. There are also condominiums, co-ops, townhouses, duplexes, triple-deckers, quadplexes, high-value homes and vacation homes.
- Commercial real estate includes shopping centers and strip malls, medical and educational buildings, hotels and offices. Apartment buildings are often considered commercial, even though they are used for residences. That's because they are owned to produce income.
- Industrial real estate includes manufacturing buildings and property, as well as warehouses. The buildings can be used for research, production, storage and distribution of goods. Some buildings that distribute goods are considered commercial real estate. The classification is important because the zoning, construction and sales are handled differently.
- Land includes vacant land, working farms and ranches. The subcategories within vacant land include undeveloped, early development or reuse, subdivision and site assembly.
Tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity only", as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".
Tourism can be domestic or international, and international tourism has both incoming and outgoing implications on a country's balance of payments. Today, tourism is a major source of income for many countries, and affects the economy of both the source and host countries, in some cases being of vital importance.
