Turkey Speeds Up to Increase Renewable Energy Production

Turkey is expanding its renewable energy portfolio with support from the World Bank and Clean Technology Fund worth USD 250 million, leveraging nearly USD 1.9 billion in total.

This will help the country to increase its renewable energy production and improve energy efficiency in order to meet growing demands, according to the World Bank’s website.

Turkey’s energy production comprises 2% of wind and 0.3% of geothermal power, though maps that the Turkish government provided show immense potential for wind, geothermal and solar energy.

The country’s wind power capacity is estimated to 48,000 MW, of which 10,000MW is in offshore wind and the major part of potential holds onshore wind.

“Looking at a wind map, I see that three sides of Turkey are surrounded by seas so this means a steady wind stream for the country’s energy,” Mehmet Toker, Bilgin Energy Engineer, is quoted by the World Bank’s website as saying.

Erdal Calikoglu from Turkish Ministry of Energy concludes: “The bottom line is for Turkey to produce more goods with less energy so it can become a global player. Turkey’s ambition is to become a leading global economy so energy use has to be a priority.”

[mappress]

Offshore WIND Staff, December 6, 2012