Turkey adds 457 MW of installed wind energy capacity in 2018

A total of USD 650 million was invested in Turkey’s wind energy sector to add 457 MW of installed capacity in 2018, the Turkish Wind Energy Association’s (TUREB) data shows.

According to the Turkish Wind Energy Statistics Report 2019, Turkey’s total installed wind capacity reached 7,369 MW in 2018, Anadolu Agency reported.

The sector grew 7.24% in 2018, with the total number of wind energy projects reaching 180 in 2018, from 164 a year earlier.

Turkey managed to continue investing in wind power installations and equipment production despite the global economic turbulence, TUREB President Mustafa Serdar Ataseven said in a statement.

He also said that Turkey has invested USD 11 billion in the wind energy sector to date.

Fitch Solutions sees near-term renewables slowdown in Turkey

Fitch Solutions recently said that Turkey’s decision to delay its 1 GW solar capacity tender in January affirms its view that growth in the country’s non-hydropower renewables sector will slow over 2019/2020, as projects development stalls in the near-term due to financing challenges.

Following the steep depreciation in the lira from August 2018, Fitch Solutions had already revised down its wind and solar capacity forecasts as it expected project developers to struggle to gain financing for their projects in a challenging economic environment.

Fitch Solutions highlighted that the country’s onshore wind power capacity tender – scheduled for March 2019 – could also face delays due to financing complications. That said, the onshore wind power sector has a more established domestic equipment manufacturing supply chain than that of the more nascent solar sector, which could anchor more investor confidence, Fitch Solutions said.

“For more nascent renewables sectors, Turkey’s economic woes will dampen investor interest, and we highlight that no announcement has been made following the offer submission deadline on October 23 2018 for the country’s 1.2GW offshore wind tender. The capital intensity of offshore wind projects coupled with Turkey’s limited offshore wind equipment manufacturing supply chain leads us to expect the offshore wind sector to be on the backburner for now,” Fitch Solutions said.

For more information and the disclaimer, see the reprint of the Fitch Solutions article.