The Turkish company Chalyk Energy (Çalık Enerji) is developing a state-of-the-art Eco Village at the Altyn Asyr Lake of Turkmenistan.
Altyn Asyr (also spelled Altin Asir) is one of the largest manmade lakes in the world. A massive cluster of main, secondary, and tertiary channels collects the agricultural wastewater and rain catchment water from all of the provinces of Turkmenistan and brings it to the lake that is still being built to reach its full size.
Gokmen Topuz, Deputy General director of Çalık Enerji (Investment & Renewable Energy, gave a presentation about the project on 26 April 2023 at the Dubai forum that is being held to attract investments to the energy sector of Turkmenistan.
Here are the main points of his presentation:
- The Ecological Village Strategy: sustainable village habitat, ecologically friendly farming, low carbon footprint, zero-waste management, low water footprint with recycling and filtration of water, and drought resistance.
- Hybrid power plant strategy: autonomous system, renewable energy usage, decentralized energy system, and on site generation and consumption.
- The hybrid power plant will have 7MW solar unit, two wind turbines of 1.5MW each, and related structures. There will be a 2MW diesel generator as backup. This will be the first powerhouse of its kind in Turkmenistan, combining solar and wind and providing diesel generator backup. The system will allow for operation in both on grid and off grid (island) modes. Additionally, the system will prevent fluctuations in the voltage and ensure uninterrupted supply of power. The construction work on the hybrid power plant started in October 2022 and it is expected to be completed in January 2024.
- The village will be a self-contained unit including an administrative building, the police and fire brigade stations, shopping area, health centre, school, kindergarten, community hall, housing for 200 families, water treatment facility (lake water to potable water), sewerage pumping and filtration facilities, and communication facilities.
The project is located 264km from Ashgabat.
Altyn Asyr Lake, when fully completed, will cover an area of 2000 square km, and the maximum depth will be 70 meters.
The filling the lake to its full capacity may take up to 15 years. The cost would be about USD 4.5 billion.
The total length of the contributory channels would 2650km. /// nCa, 26 April 2023
Here are some screenshots of slides from Çalık Enerji’s presentation:
