Domestic share of wind turbine production in Turkey reaches 72%

Turkey has managed to boost the share of local production of wind turbines to 72% and the government has the ambition to attract more investment in the industry. Furthermore, the country is exporting 80% of the output.

The world’s five biggest companies in the area of production of wind turbines and related components are active in Turkey and more investments are underway, according to Ziya Altunyaldız, head of the parliamentary Committee on Industry, Trade, Energy, Natural Resources, Information and Technology.

He said the industry employs ten thousand people in the İzmir region, already home to 18% of the country’s installed wind capacity. Altunyaldız stressed another EUR 15 billion to EUR 20 billion may be invested soon, translating to five thousand more jobs.

The top legislator added that Turkey has crossed the 11 GW threshold in wind capacity. That’s less than a year since crossing the 10 GW mark. The share of local production of wind turbines in Turkey climbed to 72%, Altunyaldız added. In his words, 80% of output is exported.

Government in Ankara is committed to supporting domestic investments in renewables equipment

Turkey is strict in demanding a high share of domestically-made equipment in renewable energy projects. It is supporting locally sourced products and services in the sector, like Kalyon’s manufacturing complex in Ankara for the company’s 1 GW solar power plant project in Karapınar. The endeavor, launched with a renewable energy auction five years ago, is halfway through.

The İzmir region is set to firm its position as the country’s wind power hub, Altunyaldız claimed

Altunyaldız estimated that the country would become one of the world’s top three wind power component suppliers. Turkey’s manufacturers will likely eliminate the European Union’s CO2 tax, officially called Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism or CBAM, by deploying renewable energy plants, in his view.

Engineers from Turkey are already maintaining and repairing wind turbines across the planet, Altunyaldız underscored.

Turkey is getting 40% of its power from green sources

Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum said the country is now getting 40% of its electricity from renewables.

Looking at statistics from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Turkey ranks 5th in Europe and 12th in the world in the installed capacity of power plants that use renewable sources. It is first in Europe in geothermal power by far while in hydropower it only trails Norway.

Turkey is Europe’s biggest solar panel producer and the fourth in the world, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Fatih Dönmez recently said.

In March, Turkey became the sixth country in Europe and 14th in the world that crossed the 100 GW mark in combined power plant capacity, according to the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources.