Student:	Nurtaç EMİROĞLU
Supervisor:	Prof. Dr. Mehmet BERKÜN
Department:	İnşaat Mühendisliği
Institution:	Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences
University:	Karadeniz Technical University, Turkey

Title of the Thesis:	ENVIRONMENTAL COST ANALYSIS OF YUSUFELİ HYDROPOWER DAM
Level:	M.Sc.
Acceptance Date:	18/8/2009
Number of Pages:	89
Registration Number:	i2088

Summary:

Water is considered a major cause of international conflicts in the 21st century and one of the

most controversial issues of the water sector in recent years has been the impacts of large dams.

Turkiye has made considerable progress in developing its water resources for multiple uses. The

construction of dams and reservoirs are the main reasons of saving water during the short rainfall

seasons to facilitate year round availability. Today, an extensive network of dams and reservoirs is

maintained of which the larger dams serve multiple purposes (e.g. flood control, irrigation,

domestic water supply, hydropower etc). Although there are many benefits arising from

hydropower, they cause negative impacts as well. Slowing down the river’s velocity causes

changes in sediment transport, storing huge amounts of water in reservoir changes significantly

the water’s quality and influences the micro-climate of the area.

540MW is analyzed for its environmental costs. For the cost analysis Yusufeli Dam’s height,

terrain or topography, population density and the area inundated by reservoir are taken into

consideration. In general information chapter, the scope of the study is explained and dam –

environment relationship is examined. In investigation chapter, general information of dam is

given. Yusufeli Town and Yusufeli Dam Project are introduced and the project’s characteristic

properties are given. In discovery chapter, GHG emissions cost of agricultural production lost and

expected loss of life, cost of resettlement and cost of land loss are taken into consideration.

Environmental cost of Yusufeli Dam Project is accounted.

The results show that environmental cost in terms of one MWh electricity generation is about

148.97$ (221.64TL) for Yusufeli Dam. Calculated environmental cost is compared with the

electrical consumption cost and dam construction cost. Yusufeli Dam’s amortization period is

calculated in terms of energy production.

Keywords: Yusufeli Dam, Çoruh River Development Plan, Environmental effects of dams,

Environmental cost, Cost-benefit analysis, Comparative analysis