Turkey opens tender for 1 GW in wind power over 15 years

Invitation for bids for the installation and operation of wind power capacity of 1 GW was placed by Turkey under the Renewable Energy Resources Area (YEKA) scheme.

The project that covers seven regions is worth USD 1.2 billion (EUR 1.12 billion), the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources said in the document published in the Official Gazette, as reported by Anadolu Agency’s Energy News Terminal. The deadline for submission to the General Directorate of Renewable Energy (YEGM) is July 27.

The tender will be held in reverse auction for the lowest price and the date will be announced after the commission completes the offer reviews. The ceiling price for one kilowatt-hour has been set at USD 0.07 (6.52 euro cents) and the power purchase agreement (PPA) will last 15 years.

Domestic sourcing

The winner must build a wind turbine factory in Turkey with the capacity of at least 150 units of 2.3 MW per year up to 21 months after the contract is signed. The stipulated quota for domestically sourced production is 65%, alongside 90% of employment in the construction and operation of the factory. The chosen investor must also cover at least 80% of expenses for research and development (R&D) within the country. An overall 1 GW needs to be ready in the subsequent 36 months after the licence.

The selected bidder will have the option of choosing among seven regions with total maximum capacity of 1.7 GW. Edirne-Kırklareli-Tekirdağ in Eastern Thrace has been assigned 700 MW as the largest unit, where at least 280 MW must be installed due to high consumption, the document notes. It is followed by Kayseri-Niğde, Ankara-Çankırı-Kırıkkale, and Sivas, with 200 MW each. The regions of Bilecik-Kütahya-Eskişehir and Malatya were both listed with 150 MW, and the smallest lot is Burdur-Denizli-Uşak, with 100 MW.

Interaction with startups

A budget of USD 5 million has been designated for R&D over one decade, with 50 full-time employees. The selected bidder will be able to cooperate with the country’s so-called technocities and technology centres for startup innovations. Ten major producers have expressed interest, the ministry said. The condition for participants is the production of wind turbines of at least 2 GW from 2014 through 2016.

Last month the consortium of Turkish Kalyon and South Korean Hanwha was picked to build a solar power plant of 1 GW in the YEKA of Karapınar. It offered the lowest price of 6.99 euro cents per kilowatt-hour. The project’s total value is USD 1.3 billion.