Latest news with #Erol
Qatar Tribune
11 hours ago
- Business
- Qatar Tribune
Wind, solar saved Turkey $12 bn in energy imports in 2024
Agencies Electricity generated from wind and solar energy helped Turkey curb $12 billion (TL 474.47 billion) in energy imports last year, Halil Demirdağ, head of the Solar Energy Industrialists and Industry Association (GENSED), said Wednesday. With limited oil and natural gas resources, Turkey has for years sought to rely more on cleaner energy resources in a drive to replace costly fossil fuel imports that have left it vulnerable to price volatilities and widened its current account deficit. Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, meanwhile, on Monday said energy prices could rise further amid escalating attacks between Israel and Iran. But he said Turkey does not expect any issues regarding supply security. Renewable resources like wind and solar play a crucial role in diversifying Turkey's energy mix and shielding it from global supply shocks, GENSED's Demirdağ told an event in Ankara. 'If consumption rises unpredictably, you cannot control energy prices. Investments are essential for the sustainability of the sector,' he noted. The Turkish government has been incentivizing investments in renewable power plants since 2005 to reduce its high import bill and insulate itself from geopolitical risks. While Turkey's electricity consumption has tripled in the last two decades, it is expected to increase even faster in the coming years due to the long-term energy transformation. This year, the government is expected to allocate about TL 520 billion to subsidize imported energy resources – mainly natural gas used in electricity production, according to Demirdağ. 'We import natural gas, subsidize it, convert it into electrical energy, and sell it. Last year, electricity production from solar and wind helped prevent $12 billion in energy imports,' he said. He added that Turkey has now reached a stage where it can produce and store electricity at a lower cost than gas-based energy and deliver it back to the grid in under a third of a second, significantly boosting flexibility. 'Energy storage systems will become increasingly vital,' Demirdağ said. Halit Erol, a board member of the Ankara Chamber of Industry (ASO), cited the Ukraine war and the Israel-Iran conflict as stark reminders of the geopolitical fragility of energy supply chains. Erol emphasized that structural transformations reducing Turkey's energy dependency are key to limiting the economic impact of crises. 'Steps taken in the areas of energy diversification, domestic production and sustainability will strengthen our country's resilience against such geopolitical fluctuations. Black Sea gas, renewable investments and nuclear energy initiatives give hope for Turkey's journey toward self-sufficiency in energy,' he boasts more than 33 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity in wind and solar energy. It plans to lift this figure to 120 GW by 2035, according to the government's targets. Erol emphasized Turkey's vast solar potential, urging coordinated efforts in technology, financing and regulation to unlock its full value. 'For this potential to translate into economic strength, strong coordination is needed in technology, financing and regulations. Our industrial sector must be at the heart of this transformation. The most effective way to reduce our dependence on foreign energy is to maximize the efficiency of our local and renewable resources,' he added.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Yahoo
Former Calik Employee Dies Following Altercation
A former Calik Holding worker died last week after he was involved in a violent altercation outside the company's headquarters in the Turkish capital of Istanbul. Erol Eğrek, who was previously employed at one of Calik Holding's textile plants in Turkmenistan, had marched up to the Şişli district building on May 9 to demand the 7 million Turkish lira ($180,559) he claimed the multi-industry conglomerate still owed him after his termination without cause more than a decade ago, according to local media. More from Sourcing Journal Bestseller Wants Higher Wages for Myanmar's Garment Workers. Activists Call Foul. Trump's Policies Are Roiling Africa's Garment and Textiles Industry USTR Says 'Unfair' Trade Practices Are Undermining U.S. Apparel and Textiles The 48-year-old arrived carrying a firearm, which witnesses said he fired at a flower pot, waved around and then pointed to his head. The former electrical maintenance supervisor, they said, was set upon by 10 security guards who disarmed him and started beating him. Following his loss of consciousness, Erol was taken by emergency responders to Cemil Taşçıoğlu State Hospital, where he was pronounced dead from a heart attack. Yasin Eğrek, one of Erol's four children, told BirGün, a Turkish daily, that his father has been struggling for 13 years without being 'able to make his voice heard.' Yasin said that Erol died not in the hospital but inside the building where his body was moved after the pummelling he received. 'My father was beaten to death,' Yasin said. 'It is not true that he died in the hospital, as it is written in the news. They beat him in front of the building and then took him inside; there is no footage from inside. We saw it ourselves. His face, neck, shoulders…he was covered in bruises. There were a lot of wounds, bruises; there were marks of beating.' In a statement, Calik Holding, the parent company of Calik Denim, said that it was 'saddened by this unfortunate event,' that it does not condone violence 'under any circumstances,' and that it supports a thorough investigation into 'every aspect of the incident.' The company also said that Erol fired not once but four times at the entrance of its building, which it described as a high-traffic area that included a hospital and school, thereby posing a public safety risk. 'Law enforcement authorities were immediately notified at the time of the incident,' it said. 'Considering the potential additional threat posed by the backpack the individual was carrying; our security personnel neutralized the threat and handed him over to the authorities.' Erol had filmed a video before his run-in, saying that he had no request other than his compensation. BirGün said that he had pursued legal recourse several times but that Calik Holding had denied his claims despite the courts siding with him. 'We have been trying for more than 10 years,' Yasin said. 'We won the case, but they didn't give it to us. Is the state behind them? Who is behind them? Although we won the case, they did not give us our compensation. He was in a financially troubled situation. If my father hadn't died, we would have had a wedding. We were going to have my brother's wedding in the summer. They stole our dreams from us.' Calik Holding disputes this, saying that it had made a settlement of 7.2 million Turkish lira ($185,717) to Erol and 32 other former employees in 2016. Despite signing a legally binding release, Erol had continued for years to direct 'baseless accusations' and 'unfounded demands' toward the company, including through threatening messages. 'At no point during this period did the individual pursue legal action regarding his claims,' Calik Holding said. 'Therefore, our company neither owes any payment to him nor is subject to any ongoing litigation concerning the matter.' But Turkey's trade unions say Calik Holding is responsible for Erol's death. They include the Confederation of Revolutionary Trade Unions of Turkey, or DISK, which condemned the 'beating and killing of our worker friend' and said that his struggle will not be 'left unfinished.' 'While new obstacles are being created every day for workers to seek their rights in our country, which is among the 10 worst countries in the world in terms of workers' rights, some people have the audacity to beat and kill workers who seek their rights,' DISK said in a statement that used Turkey's official name. 'Those responsible for this situation are not only the security guards of the company; it is the political power that has turned Türkiye into a hell for workers and a paradise of exploitation for capital.' On Wednesday, Birtek-Sen, an organization that represents textile, weaving and leather workers, protested outside the Calik Denim factory in Malatya. It said that Erol was dismissed without severance in 2012 because he spoke about the links between Calik Holding and the Fethullah Gülen movement. Until his death in Pennsylvania last year, Gülen, a Turkish Muslim preacher who was accused of plotting a coup against President Recep Tayyip in 2016, was wanted as a terrorist leader in Turkey and Pakistan. 'The price for the fortune grown on the back of workers' labor was first the worker's severance, then his life,' said Birtek-Sen representative Halime Sancak. 'This is Calik's system. This system grows on the sweat, time, future, rights, blood and lives of workers. We will hold Calik, which grew with Erol Eğrek's labor, rights and life, and who killed Erol Eğrek, to account. We will fight, we will organize. We will bring down this deadly system on the heads of those who take away our bread, our future, our lives.' Calik Denim said it maintains an 'unwavering' commitment to human rights, the rule of law and transparency. Six of its security guards have been detained by the police for questioning, though two of them have since been released on probation. 'Regardless of the use of a firearm, the protection of human life is a fundamental value,' it said. 'We support a full and impartial judicial review of every moment of the security intervention. It is our shared responsibility to ensure that every aspect of this tragic incident is addressed with justice and in a manner that upholds human dignity.'
