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Argonne Labs, Turkish ministry partner for clean energy development

07/08/2009

ARGONNE, Ill. — The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory will play a key role in a Clean Energy Partnership recently announced between Turkey’s Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (MENR) and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA).

“We have enjoyed a longstanding partnership with Argonne National Laboratory, and we look forward to working with them again as we address critical issues related to future energy use and developing clean energy technologies,” said Budak Dilli, General Director for Energy Affairs at MENR.  “Their expertise will be instrumental in helping us understand our future energy supply and demand situation while realizing the environmental and economic implications of our energy policy decisions.”

A recent memorandum of agreement (MOA) between Turkey and USTDA outlines a clean energy partnership that will advance key objectives of the Obama Administration by reducing carbon emissions and developing advanced renewable energy technologies.

“Our Clean Energy Partnership with MENR highlights how USTDA’s program provides access to U.S. technology and global best practices in meeting overseas development challenges,” said USTDA Acting Director Leocadia I. Zak. “We are pleased that the experts at Argonne National Laboratory will play an important role as Turkey prepares to make key decisions about the development of its energy sectors.

The project includes training for Turkish officials in Argonne’s energy planning and modeling tools to support long range energy supply and demand projections while improving and diversifying energy use, developing renewable energy and reducing carbon emissions. Argonne has worked with Turkey over the last 18 years on a series of complex energy and power modeling issues funded by the World Bank and the United Nations Development Program.

“Turkey has significant energy potential that has yet to be realized,” said Argonne’s Guenter Conzelmann. “Our training and models will help the Turkish government make decisions that will address their future energy supply needs, develop sustainable energy strategies, and mitigate potential power shortages while reducing vulnerabilities and promoting economic growth.”

Conzelmann heads Argonne’s Center for Energy, Environmental and Economic Systems Analysis (CEEESA), which develops models to analyze energy, environmental and economic issues. The models created by CEEESA are used to inform decision makers about large-scale energy deployments and address today's energy and environmental problems. 

CEEESA has trained over 1,300 experts from more than 90 countries. CEEESA works with power companies, consulting agencies and governments around the world, including the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the U.S. State Department (USDOS), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the World Bank, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), USTDA and various state agencies.

The U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology. The nation’s first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific problems, advance America’s scientific leadership and prepare the nation for a better future.

With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.