Turkey’s defense industry developing first fully domestic wind turbines

Turkey’s main defense contractor Aselsan joined hands with Electricity Generation Co. – EÜAŞ with the aim to install the first wind turbines fully made in Turkey in 2024.

The government in Ankara has been introducing incentives and restrictions for years to lift the share of domestic production in its wind turbine industry. The share of local production has reached 72% and Turkey has the ambition to attract more investment in the industry.

The first wind farms were established in 1998 in Çeşme near İzmir and 100% of the equipment was brought from abroad. Localization began with the production of towers, expanding later to blades.

State-owned Aselsan and Electricity Generation Co. (EÜAŞ) now have the ambition to commission the country’s first fully domestic wind turbines in the same area in 2024, according to media reports.

The design of the generator and power converter is already complete

Two devices of 2 MW are planned to be installed in Alaçatı, one of the first wind power plants in Turkey, Dunya.com learned. It is owned by EÜAŞ. The cooperation entails design, software and manufacturing while data is being collected at the site, where Aselsan previously installed a measurement mast, the article adds.

The project already has the design of the generator and power converter covered, according to the report. The idea is to roll out mass production after the pilot project, the news outlet wrote.

Towers and blades for wind turbines that are made in Turkey are currently shipped to more than one hundred countries, the report notes.

Aselsan is the country’s main defense contractor and EÜAŞ is the government-controlled electricity producer and trader.