Turkey ranks 5th in Europe in wind turbine equipment production

İZMİR

Turkey ranks fifth in the list of leading producers of strategic wind turbine components in Europe, according to WindEurope’s latest report called Wind Energy and Economic Recovery in Europe.

The report showcased the state of play of the European wind industry and its global competitiveness along with its industrial footprint in Europe.

The report found that in a very competitive market that is worth 50 billion euros globally in 2020, 38 billion euros onshore and 12 billion euros offshore, China takes the lion’s share at 45 percent out of the nearly 800 wind turbine component manufacturing sites.

Europe ranks second at 31 percent, where India follows with 7 percent, Brazil with 5 percent, while North America is home to only 4.5 percent of global wind component factories.

The report showcased the state of play of the European wind industry and its global competitiveness along with its industrial footprint in Europe.

The report showed that the top four producers of strategic wind turbine components in Europe are in order of the number of their operational facilities; Germany with 82, Spain with 41, Italy with 17 and Denmark with 13.

Turkey follows these countries with 12 operational facilities, characterizing it as the fifth-largest wind turbine component producer in Europe. Of these 12 facilities, six facilities produce towers, four facilities produce blades and two facilities produce castings.

“The steps that Turkey takes in clean energy and clean technologies in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the 11th Development Plan of Turkey are now being reflected in the reports prepared by international organizations,” İzmir Development Agency’s (İZKA) Secretary-General Mehmet Yavuz told Anadolu Agency in an exclusive interview.

Turkey has made considerable progress in wind energy equipment production and has now reached a stage in which it can produce almost all of the equipment required for a wind turbine, which constitutes 8,000 components.

The facilities that produce the main, largest and most expensive components, such as blades, towers and nacelles used within Turkey and for international exports, are established in and around İzmir, Yavuz asserted.

İzmir has become the capital of wind energy as 60 percent of the country’s wind capacity, representing 10 percent of the country’s total installed capacity in 2020, is manufactured in and around the Izmir area -- 20 percent in İzmir and 40 percent in the surrounding vicinity.

Other than the 12 production facilities in the WindEurope’s report, there are 30 more facilities in İzmir that produce wind energy components, Yavuz said.

He expects to see further progress in wind equipment production in Turkey reflected in similar reports due to new investments underway.

The report has also highlighted the fierce competition in the manufacture and supplies of high market value components such as towers, rotor blades and gearboxes, which totals 50-55 percent of the market globally.