First self-generated electricity sold by district municipality

Merve Erdil - Hürriyet

An unlicensed power generation project has started selling electricity for the first time in Turkey, after the rise in the maximum generation limit. AA photo

An unlicensed power generation project has started selling power to an electricity distribution company for the first time in Turkey.

A 96 kW solar energy project, which is owned by the Gürsu municipality in the northwestern province of Bursa, sold power to the electricity distribution company in the region, marking a first for unlicensed power projects.

Real or legal persons fulfilling certain minimum requirements can therefore generate their own electricity and sell the surplus power to the power distribution companies.

Limit extension

With a new regulation, the maximum limit for such projects was increased to 1 megawatt (MW). The previous limit, passed in July 2011, made it possible for generating stations or power plants - with the installed power capacity of a maximum of 500 kilowatts (kW), based on renewable energy sources and/or cogeneration facilities - to sell power without a license.

Electricity companies see the new regulation from different perspectives. “Some of them see what the regulation brings as an investment opportunity for themselves. Others, however, find the regulation to have negative effects as they believe that they will lose their customers,” said Ömer Karahan, General Manager of Merk Solar Energy, which developed the mentioned solar energy project for the Gürsu Municipality.