A project started nearly 40 years ago could help ensure energy security in Turkey through renewable reserves, a director said Monday.

Sadrettin Karahocagil, director of the Southeastern Anatolia Project, said renewable energy could stave off a future energy crisis in Turkey.

"There will be times when we can't find energy," he said. "[This project] is a solution, a preparation for those times."

The project, known by its Turkish acronym GAP, started life in 1977 as an agricultural project, but has since morphed into an energy and water project meant to stimulate the economies of Turkey's southeastern provinces.

Turkey is working to expand the use of renewable energy through projects backed by the U.N. Development Program. UNDP provides technical support for the $4.3 million GAP program.

Energy demand is on the rise in a Turkish economy that was shielded from much of the damage of the global economic recession. The International Energy Agency expects Turkish energy demand will double during the next decade.