Turkey as an energy importing country, is heavily dependent on fossil fuels, which causes an increase in environmental problems and raises concerns on energy security. However, biowastes offer a signi cant potential, especially in the Marmara Region of the country. In this study, the waste potential of the region for energy production is analyzed. Within this context, agricultural and livestock wastes are examined in terms of their amounts, theoretical energy potentials and costs to generate electricity. To evaluate economic costs, collection and feedstock costs for animal and agricultural wastes are handled in three different scenarios based on FAO's assessment. Given the results for wastes and energy potentials, it has been deduced that biowastes can theoretically meet more than half of the electricity consumption of the region. The results of the cost analysis demonstrate that both direct combustion of agricultural wastes and conversion of animal wastes to biogas in CHP plants to produce electricity are economical according to several scenario options considering the LCOE and feed-in-tariff values.

Turkey as an energy importing country, is heavily dependent on fossil fuels, which causes an increase in environmental problems and raises concerns on energy security. However, biowastes offer a significant potential, especially in the Marmara Region of the country. In this study, the waste potential of the region for energy production is analyzed. Within this context, agricultural and livestock wastes are examined in terms of their amounts, theoretical energy potentials and costs to generate electricity. To evaluate economic costs, collection and feedstock costs for animal and agricultural wastes are handled in three different scenarios based on FAO’s assessment. Given the results for wastes and energy potentials, it has been deduced that biowastes can theoretically meet more than half of the electricity consumption of the region. The results of the cost analysis demonstrate that both direct combustion of agricultural wastes and conversion of animal wastes to biogas in CHP plants to produce electricity are economical according to several scenario options considering the LCOE and feed-in-tariff values.