Turkey tenders solar electricity licenses

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

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Turkey has begun to put its solar-powered energy generation capacity for tender, beginning with the eastern provinces of Elazığ and Erzurum.

As the first step to license a total of 600 megawatts (MW) of electricity potential across the country until the year-end, the Turkish Electricity Transmission Company (TEİAŞ) held tenders to choose companies that will undertake solar power production in Anatolia.

The first tender took place for 8 MW capacity of production in the Elazığ province where Solentegre Energy Company won the bid by offering approximatetly $400,000 for every megawatt of electricity produced.

The second bid was for Erzurum’s production of 5 MW of electricity and Halk Energy Company acquired the license for 4.9 MW of production by offering roughly $33,000 for every megawatt of electricity produced.

The solar electricity production companies are bound to invest in their regions and pay their respective fees over the next three years.

Currently, Turkey generates 46 percent of its electricity from natural gas and has an energy bill of up to $60 billion a year. Turkey only meets 27 percent of its energy need from its own sources, renewables and coal included, but it aims to meet 30 percent of its need from renewable sources alone by 2023.