Turkey’s chief regulator expects investments of up to USD 25 billion in energy storage

Chairman of Turkey’s Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA) Mustafa Yılmaz said an upcoming package of regulations would enable the country to attract investments of USD 20 billion to USD 25 billion in energy storage.

The Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA) prepared a set of rules for the sector, the institution’s Chairman Mustafa Yılmaz said and added that the new regulations are about to be published in Turkey’s Official Gazette.

“We think it will attract many domestic and foreign investments. We will have a good place in the world as well. We see investments in batteries as a great opportunity for Turkey,” he stated at the Turkish Wind Energy Congress in Izmir, claiming the new measures would enable the country to attract investments of USD 20 billion to USD 25 billion in energy storage.

Investors to be allowed to add renewable power plant to every storage unit

Everyone who wants to install such a facility will have the privilege to apply for a preliminary license for a wind or solar power plant at the site with a matching capacity, and with no competition, Yılmaz explained.

However, such projects will still depend on connection terms that need to be obtained from Turkish Electricity Transmission Corp. (TEİAŞ) or a distribution company, Anadolu Agency reported. Operators of storage facilities will be able to participate in the balancing market and provide network ancillary grid services.

Auxiliary wind, solar power plants can have up to 250 MW in capacity

The minimum capacity for wind power is 20 MW, compared to 10 MW for photovoltaics. The upper limit is 250 MW, according to the upcoming package.

The capacity of the energy storage system must be at least one hour. It means, for instance, that a 10 MW battery will need to store at least 10 MWh of electricity.

Yılmaz pointed out that the goal is to make maximum use of domestic clean energy sources and help reduce Turkey’s dependence on energy imports.

Speaking at the same event, Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank said exports of wind turbines and accompanying equipment would reach EUR 2 billion this year, compared to EUR 1.5 billion from 2021.