Turkey plans to quadruple its wind and solar power capacity by 2035

Alparslan Bayraktar, the Energy Minister of Turkey, said that $108 billion in public and private investments will be needed to quadruple Turkey's wind and solar power generation capacity to 120,000MW by 2035.

Bayraktar, speaking at a conference to announce Turkey's roadmap on renewable energy resources, said that the first tender conditions for this year's renewable energy resource area will be announced next Monday.

Bayraktar stated that the energy ministry is working to change current regulations regarding renewable energy investments in order to encourage private sector participation.

In order to increase the capacity of plants, the Ministry will concentrate on pre-licenses and permissions for 34,000MW of plants that are not yet turned into investments.

Bayraktar stated that "we need to accelerate, and focus on capacity which is currently in the process of investment...We are aiming at reducing the time period to obtain a license from four to two years."

Bayraktar said that out of the total investment necessary to boost the capacity, $28 billion would be allocated for the improvement of the transmission infrastructure. This includes building transformers and installing high voltage transmission grids throughout the country.

Investors in the energy sector have expressed concern about Turkey's long-winded approval process and lack financing, even though wind and solar power capacity has grown dramatically over the past few years.

Bayraktar stated that Turkey will allocate 2,000MW of wind and sun plants in the first quarter of next year. A new scheme will provide a floor price and long-term electricity purchase guarantees to make investments easier.

Since 2005, Turkey has encouraged private sector investment in renewable energy plants to reduce its high import bills and protect itself from geopolitical risk.

According to data, solar, wind, biomass, and geothermal power plants that began operation after 2005 have reached a total installed capacity of approximately 30,000MW, or 17.7%, in the last 18 years.

The long-term energy transition, which involves replacing fossil energy with electricity, is expected to accelerate Turkey's electric consumption. Can Sezer, Birsen Alayli and Daren Butler edited this article.

(source: Reuters)