Turkey’s wind 'not blowing enough'

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet

Turkey has raised its wind energy generation by only 506 MW, while its capacity is estimated at 40,000 MW, an international report says. DHA photo

Turkey lags far behind developed countries when it comes to generating wind energy, while the world’s wind energy leaders, China and the United States, installed more than 13,000 megawatts (MW) of new capacity last year, according to statistics released by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC).

While Turkey last year increased its electricity generation from wind energy from 1,806 MW seen a year earlier to 2,312 MW with a 506 MW increase, it is still far from its goal of generating 20,000 MW from wind energy by 2023. It is estimated that Turkey has a technical capacity of 40,000 MW.

However, wind power plants benefit from state incentives in Turkey. If 55 percent of the materials used for plant construction are local, the state increases its guarantee of purchase by 30 percent. General Electric, one of world’s leading energy companies, has been in the process of carrying out works to build a local wind tribune in Turkey.

The world’s wind energy generation reached 282,482 MW last year with a 19 percent increase from the year before, as the top 10 wind energy generating countries made 85 percent of the total number. China remained on top of all countries with 75,564 MW by installing more 13,200 MW, followed by the U.S., which has a capacity of 60,007 MW. The European Union’s wind energy generation amounted to 105,000 MW in total.

Lack of tribune industry prevents wind energy generation

Turkey is at a disadvantage due to its lack of tribune manufacturing industry, said Tolga Bilgin, president of the Wind Power and Hydropower Plants Businessmen’s Association (RESSİAD). “Countries like Germany, China and India promote their own wind tribune industries and exports. Turkey’s all-installed power’s gain flies abroad [to other countries] because it does not have this industry,” he said.

The long permission process is also another obstacle against wind energy investments, he said. “First of all, the area must be declared a wind field. But 20 or 30 institutions are asked for their opinions,” he said, adding that the process lasts more than one year. Bilgin also said the permissions of General Staff and National Intelligence Service (MİT) have recently been required.