Fatih Donmez, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, said, “We rank 8th in Europe and 13th in the world in wind installed capacity. With our wind energy installed power reaching 10,500 megawatts (MW), we meet about 10% of our electricity from wind today. Especially this year, the wind blew so strongly that we broke new records in daily production exceeding 20% several times.”
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Donmez attended the ’10th Turkish Wind Energy Congress (TUREK)’ program organized by the Turkish Wind Energy Association at the hotel in Ankara. In the program, along with Minister Donmez, Turkish Wind Energy Association (TUREB) President Ebru Arici, Parliamentary Industry, Trade, Energy, Natural Resources Information and Technology Commission President Ziya Altunyaldiz, representatives of the public and private sectors took part. Minister Donmez stated that they took the first step in wind energy 23 years ago in Izmir, expressing that they have made great progress in terms of production and technology in a short time, and said:
“Our power plant was 1.5 MW, not much, but its symbolic meaning was far beyond a financial investment because Turkey met a new type of energy and a new technology for the first time that day. Over time, the demand for wind energy has grown so fast that we have made great progress in terms of both production and technology in a short period of time. Today, a total of 231 domestic and foreign companies operate in the wind energy sector. We produce a total of 30 terawatt-hours (TWh) per year in our 355 operating power plants. We rank 8th in Europe and 13th in the world in wind installed power. With our wind energy installed power reaching 10,500 MW, we meet about 10% of our electricity from wind today. Especially this year, the wind blew so strongly that we broke new records in daily production exceeding 20% several times.”
’15 THOUSAND PEOPLE ARE EMPLOYED IN THE WIND ENERGY SECTOR’
Minister Donmez emphasized that the most important goal in wind energy is to produce the equipment of the sector with domestic means, “Currently, we have 16 domestic manufacturers operating in the wind sector in our country. Many equipment such as rotor blades, turbine towers, fasteners and generator parts are now produced in our country. Approximately 15 thousand people are employed in the wind energy sector. Our sector is one of the leading sectors in the localization of energy technologies with a domestic production rate of 65%. Today, Turkey exports wind energy equipment to 45 countries in 6 continents. 70-80% of the turnover of our companies consists of export revenues. Renewable energy technologies in general and wind energy technologies in particular will have an important place in our new economic model based on growth and exports.”
Minister Donmez pointed out that the installed capacity of renewable energy rose to 54% and said, “With the Renewable Energy Resources Support Mechanism, we have provided an important financial support to renewable energy and paved the way for unlicensed production. We increased the upper limit in unlicensed production up to the electrical connection power of the institutions. We have made it easier for the institution or facility to establish connection power as much as it needs electricity. We encouraged the development of green energy with practices such as the Green Tariff and YEK-G. We have developed mechanisms to support and encourage energy efficiency, and implemented legal regulations. Hopefully in 2023, we will add a new carbon-neutral energy source to our energy portfolio, with Akkuyu coming into play.”
Source: Sabah / Translated by Irem Yildiz