Turkey, which has been on the fore front of renewable energy investments, has doubled its capacity within seven years. According to SETA report, the total installed capacity of 15.5 GW in renewable energy production in 2009 rose to 34.2 GW in 2016.
Turkey, which aims to reduce the external dependency on energy and speeds up renewable energy investments within this scope, has grown rapidly over the last 7 years. It is stated that by the end of 2017 approximately 35% of the total energy resources of Turkey will be made out of renewable resources.
According to the report, “Solar is the most potential energy resource in Turkey”. Considering that the total installed power of electricity is about 79.000 MW by 2017, the importance of transforming the potential of solar energy into production is once again recognized. In order to meet Turkey’s current total electricity needs, there is a need for solar panels to spread over a 790 km long area. Considering the needs of electricity production, Turkey can meet the entire electricity demand only from the solar energy when it comes to the year 2023, provided that all the solar potential is used. Estimations made by the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources reveal that 3,000 MW of electricity will be produced from solar energy in 2019 and that this figure will be increased to 5.000 MW in 2023.
Turkey ranks 16th in the EY Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index, up 3 places from last year. In the ranking of forty countries in terms of renewable energy investments, Turkey rose 16th place in 2017, ahead of the previous year by 3 digits. Turkey’s solar energy capacity has increased three times in a year reaching 1.5 GW, showing that foreign investors are more interested in renewable energy opportunities in Turkey, especially wind energy.
EY Turkey Energy Sector Leader Erkan Baykuş evaluated Turkey’s rise and said, “Our country offers attractive investment opportunities for domestic and foreign investors, especially in the areas of wind and solar energy”. He pointed out that the demand for high volumes hows that there is a strong appetite for investments and applications in the field of renewable energy in Turkey.
He continued”Also, there are many new developments in the fields of intelligent measurement systems and networks’ development, digitalization and customer solutions both in our country and in the world, and as a result Turkey’s energy efficiency is gradually increasing. In terms of solar energy, Turkey is among the countries with higher potential because of the size of the area and the length of irradiation duration. This will make Turkey an increasingly attractive market for investors”.
It shows that the Ministry’s commitment to large-scale tenders and renewed incentives to work continuously in the field of renewable energy is an intense determination to achieve its goals. For example, German Siemens-Turkerler-Kalyon consortium won the latest Wind Energy Renewable Energy Resource Areas (YEKA) tender. The consortium will invest over $ 1 billion in a production facility.
Also Hanwha QCells has started the construction of its Turkish panel factory and CSun, a specialized manufacturer of solar cells and modules took the next step in its globalization approach and celebrated the grand opening of another factory in Turkey. Such developments will be an important incentive for new investments and investors to come to Turkey.
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