The historical Tarsus hydroelectric power plant is a defunct hydroelectric power plant, notable for being the first

hydroelectric plant Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

in Turkey.

Location

Tarsus is a populous

ilçe The 81 provinces of Turkey are divided into 973 districts (''ilçeler''; sing. ''ilçe''). In the early Turkish Republic and in the Ottoman Empire, the corresponding unit was the ''kaza''. Most provinces bear the same name as their respectiv ...

(district) center in

Mersin Province Mersin Province ( tr, ), formerly İçel Province ( tr, ), is a province in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean coast between Antalya and Adana. The provincial capital and the biggest city in the province is Mersin, which is composed of fo ...

. The plant was in the Fahrettin Paşa neighborhood of Tarsus, in a place known as Bentbaşı, about from Tarsus city center.

History

The plant was suggested by an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

engineer named Dörfler. According to a rumour the first suggestion was a plant in the capital

İstanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

, which was rejected by the Ottoman sultan

Abdülhamit II Abdülhamid or Abdul Hamid II ( ota, عبد الحميد ثانی, Abd ül-Hamid-i Sani; tr, II. Abdülhamid; 21 September 1842 10 February 1918) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 31 August 1876 to 27 April 1909, and the last sultan to ...

. One of the sultan's viziers, Hulusi Pasha, who was of Tarsus origin, convinced the sultan to approve a plant in Tarsus, far from the capital. The plant was put into operation on 15 September 1902,Technical on line library
about 20 years later than the first commercial electricity production in the world.

Technical details

The first plant was a dynamo driven by a watermill on

Berdan River The Berdan (also Baradān or Baradā), the ancient Cydnus ( el, Κύδνος), is a river in Mersin Province, south Turkey. The historical city of Tarsus is on the river and it is therefore sometimes called the Tarsus River. Originally the water ...

. Its output was only 2 kW.Uğur Pişmanlık: e-book Tarsus ve barajları
/ref> The primitive water mill was replaced by a turbine from İtalo Sulssera, which increased the output, and some of the more important streets were electrically lighted. Even then only a few houses could use electricity. Moreover there were no switches and the dynamo operation was halted during the nights. There were no

electricity meter North American domestic analog electricity meter. Electricity meter with transparent plastic case (Israel) North American domestic electronic electricity meter An electricity meter, electric meter, electrical meter, energy meter, or kilowa ...

s and consumers paid according to the number of electric bulbs they used.

Aftermath

During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

a second plant was established, and, after the war, the municipality sold the plant to a private firm. According to research by Professor Hamit Serbest, after many handovers the plant building was used as a fertilizer factory.

References

{{stack, {{Portal, Turkey, Water, Renewable energy Hydroelectric power stations in Turkey Buildings and structures in Mersin Province Tarsus, Mersin Former hydroelectric power stations