Islamic Development Bank to provide financing for Turkish energy sector

Being a key development sector for the bank, energy projects in Turkey will receive “significant financial support over the next 10 years” from Islamic Development Bank (IDB), said Salah Jelassi, IDB`s Turkey director in an interview for the Anadolu Agency – Energy News Terminal.

“In recent years IDB provided USD 540 million for energy projects in the private sector, supporting investments worth more than USD 2 billion. Most of these investments were in the renewable energy sector and the rest were for improving energy efficiency in industrial facilities”, he added.

As a result of these investments, Jelassi explained that around 600 MW of new power plants have been put into operation. Expecting further demands in renewable energy and energy efficiency in Turkey, as well as energy generation, supply, storage, and electricity and gas systems, IDB will develop “more innovative financing paradigm”.

“The bank will continue to support new solar and wind energy investments in Turkey, either through public institutions or through local financial intermediaries or even directly”, Jelassi said.

Jelassi underlined the importance of equipment and technologies used in renewable energy power plants.

“It is very important for Turkey to gain the ability for wide-scale manufacturing of electromechanical equipment to be used in solar and wind power plants which will also help Turkey improve its macroeconomic indicators as well as provide sustainability advantages”, pointed out Jelassi for Anadolu Agency.