Less bureaucracy through introducing an “umbrella frame” is required to reduce the waiting period for Turkey’s weather-driven energy licenses which could supply most of the nation’s electricity, according to Mustafa Serdar Ataseven, president of Turkish Wind Energy Association (TWEA or Türeb). The current waiting period is seven to eight years for a single license, he said on February 29, Anadolu Agency’s Energy Terminal reported. Energy firms have to apply to approximately 40 state offices including the responsible ministry, the Energy Regulatory Authority, and to various state officials to comply with regulations, the article adds.
Turkey’s wind energy potential is more than double of the total installed capacity, Ataseven said. “Turkey’s installed capacity for wind power can reach 25 GW by 2020. We don’t have difficulties in finding financing and there are no technology-related issues. We believe we can reach that target,” he stated.
Last year Turkey added a record high 956 MW of installed wind capacity to reach 4.72 GW, according to TWEA’s annual report released at the beginning of February. The volume reached 2.96 GW in 2013 and 3.76 GW in 2014. For the first time, unlicensed power was also taken into consideration. According to the report, there is 81.4 MW in 107 unlicensed wind projects. Unlicensed 14 projects with a total 10.4 MW are located in Tekirdağ, Çanakkale and Istanbul, in Marmara region. Ataseven said that over 1 GW of additional installed capacity is expected for this year. Turkey aims to add more than 20% to renewable energy capacity in its total energy mix by 2023, he said, adding that the country should focus more on wind energy infrastructure projects in the next couple of years to reach this target.
