WEC24: We look forward to sharing fast track solutions of AKSA, Says, Nişli

Serdar Nişli, Business Development Director and Vice Chairman of Aksa Power Generation & Aksa Energy to represent the AKSA Group in WEC24. AKSA, with its foundations dating back to the 1950s, is a global energy group with manufacturing plants across 4 continents, operations in 21 countries and exports to 160 countries. With more than 7,000 employees committed to customer satisfaction and trust, the Group is focused on energy generation, Genset manufacturing, natural gas distribution, electricity distribution and electricity sales. Devdiscourse catches up with Nisli for an interaction. Read the full interview.

Aksa Power Generation & Aksa Energy, an exhibitor in WEC24 being held in Abu Dhabi from 9th to 12th September 2019. The Turkey-based global players in the energy sector claim to built and commissioned power plants in Africa within 6 to 9 months. In an exclusive interview with Devdiscourse, the Business Development Director and Vice Chairman of Aksa Power Generation & Aksa Energy Mr. Serdar Nisli shares the story of Aksa Energy’s innovations, performance and commitment for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Edited Excerpts:    

Q. 1. How are you preparing to attend the World Energy Congress 2019 in Abu Dhabi?

Nisli: With only a few days left until the 24th World Energy Congress, we are very excited and looking forward to meeting energy professionals from all over the world at the AKSA stand for 4 days. As Aksa Power Generation and Aksa Energy, we consider WEC as an invaluable opportunity to get together with the stakeholders and market players of the energy industry and we are very proud to represent Turkey at such a big event.

Throughout the congress, we will be sharing with industry professionals and energy ministers from various countries our agile and flexible business model which enables us to build and commission fast-track power plant solutions in energy-strapped countries, how we relocated some of our power plants in Turkey to Africa and commissioned power plants in Ghana, Mali and Madagascar in a very short time to meet the urgent need for energy in these countries as well as our vision on the future of energy industry. 

Q.2. How do you think your company’s innovations could make a change in the energy sector in line to the SDGs 2030 set up by the United Nations?

Nisli: Our Company builds its sustainability strategy on three main pillars -environmental sustainability, social responsibility and employees. We have a Sustainability Committee which follows up the development of strategies, policies and targets that are required for the management of environmental, social and management-related risks in compliance with the Corporate Governance Principles.

As a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) since 2017, Aksa Energy is committed to conducting its business operations in line with the 10 principles set forth in the compact. We consistently take new initiatives in line with the Sustainability Development Goals 2030 and we are proud to say that we have already achieved successful results in line with several principles.

We invest in new technologies to reduce air emissions. We have introduced the flue gas treatment system at Bolu Goynuk Thermal Power Plant, which is a first in Turkey in this regard. Thanks to this system, the power plant reached the legal emission targets set by the EU for 2018 as early as 2015. In 2018, we reduced our water consumption by 10% year-on-year. Wastewater volume also declined by 11% compared to the previous year. We continue to implement our sustainability strategy to achieve both qualitative and quantitative results.

As a global energy producer based in Turkey, we believe that doing business in different regions of the world and expanding our global presence with a diversified market structure also helps us reinforce our organizational structure. We give priority to employing local residents in our domestic and international power plants to support the development of local communities. Currently, some 62% of our employees at Ghana Power Plant are from the local community, compared with 67% at Madagascar and 81% at Mali Power Plants. 

Q.3. What has been technical feasibility and implementation ability of your company’s innovations?  

Nisli: We are part of a group of companies which has been active in various lines of energy business from energy generation to natural gas distribution & sales, electricity sales and power generator manufacturing and sales since the 1950s.

To date, we have designed, built and operated more than 30 power plants under the brand Aksa Energy, our global brand in energy generation business.

We have built and commissioned power plants in Ghana, Madagascar and Mali in 6-9 months to meet the urgent energy demand in these countries. We provide fast-track solutions to energy-strapped countries thanks to our in-house engineering, project development, design, procurement, logistics, operation and maintenance capabilities. Also, we are able to build and commission direct-to grid connection, natural gas- and HFO-fired mobile power plants with a capacity range of 5MW to 500 MW in a very short time thanks to our mobile power plant solutions.

Aksa Power Generation ranks among the world’s top five power generator manufacturers. Our Company is one of the first companies in the world to manufacture generators that run on natural gas, and indisputably the leader when it comes to synchronized generators. At Aksa Power Generation, we have recently focused our R&D investments on environmentally friendly generators with lower fuel consumption and lower noise levels. In 2016, we added to our product portfolio the hybrid generator - an innovative technology completely based on our own research and development works - which can derive its energy from renewable sources, such as wind and solar energy, making it technology for the future. The hybrid generator provides fuel savings of up to 70%, offering an economical and efficient alternative to customers.

We pioneer the industry with projects designed to increase prosperity in energy-strapped countries thanks to our agile and flexible business model, mobile power plants solutions and our ability to relocate the existing power plants in our portfolio to different regions of the world in a very fast manner.

Q.4. What have been your company’s major achievements so far?

Nisli: Leader of the Turkish generator market, Aksa Power Generation is one of Turkey’s biggest exporters, exporting its products to over 160 countries. As one of the top five power generator manufacturers in the world with 21 sales points in Asia, Europe, Africa and America, we export more than 50% of the production of our plants located in Turkey, China and the US. Our power generator factory in China, which was inaugurated in 2012, has the world’s largest production capacity.

Aksa Energy, our global brand in energy generation business, operates in 5 countries across 2 continents. To date, we have built more than 30 power plants in Turkey and abroad with minimum costs and in very short periods thanks to our in-house capabilities. Most recently, we have commissioned power plants in African countries, namely Ghana, Madagascar and Mali and we are committed to maintaining our sustainable growth in the international marketplace with a continued focus on improving prosperity and living standards in energy-strapped countries.

Q.5. What is your business strategy for further expansion?

Nisli: Thanks to our know-how, innovative solutions and international service network, we invest in energy projects in different regions of the world. As a group of companies, which has power plants in 5 countries across 2 continents and exports power generators to more than 160 countries on 3 continents, our utmost priority is to invest in energy-strapped countries all over the world to meet their urgent energy needs. Leveraging the experience and expertise we have acquired in African and TRNC markets, we closely follow new investment opportunities in international markets with the aim of turning these opportunities into low-cost solutions by using our existing portfolio with a flexible business model.

Q.6. What are your expectations from the 24th World Energy Congress 2019?

Nisli: The 24th World Energy Congress will bring together all stakeholders of the global energy industry, and we are very excited for the opportunity to meet thousands of energy professionals and decision-makers from all over the world. We are looking forward to sharing our fast-track solutions, how we built and commissioned power plants in Africa within 6 to 9 months to deliver ‘Energy for Prosperity’ – the theme of this edition – as well as our new investment projects designed to increase access to electricity and improve prosperity of local communities in energy-strapped countries all over the world.

Thank You. 

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