Renewable energy and environmental technologies
With its rapid and stable economic growth the energy demand increases but Turkey still lags behind the developed countries in terms of energy consumption per capita. The use of electricity raised 61% from 31.846 MW in 2000 to 51.547 MW in 2011 and is expected to be 434 Billion KwH by 2020.
Energy efficiency is an essential part of the environmental policies in Turkey. Investments in environmental technologies are highly supported by the government.
Turkey is very rich in renewables potential, but few of this potential has been utilized so far. The green opportunities have become one of the hottest topics in Turkey. Renewables are not only considered as a way of declining import dependency in energy resources but also as a part of finding solutions to environmental problems such as global warming.
Local municipalities in Turkey also play an important role in recycling, water purification, waste-sewage treatment, environmental remediation and solid waste management.
Having in mind that the government incentives are an indispensable part of any renewable energy scheme for the time being, Turkish Parliament passed the Law 5346 to incentivize the usage of renewable sources in power generation. Based on this legislation, the incentives for the use of renewables in power generation include:
• Feed-in-Tariffs,
• purchase guarantees connection priorities,
• lower license fees,
• license exemptions in exceptional circumstances and
• various practical conveniences in project preparation and land acquisition.
Turkey has implemented most of the European legislation on energy efficiency. Efforts are ongoing to further enhance the investment framework in renewables sector and to further increase the share of renewables in compliance with the targets set by the Strategy Paper. Turkey’s ambitious vision of 2023, the centennial foundation of the Republic, envisages grandiose targets for the renewable energy sector in Turkey. Some of these targets include:
• Increasing the share of renewables in energy generation to 30 percent
• Full utilization of hydropower, more than doubling the existing capacity of hydropower
• Increasing wind power to 20,000 MW (up from 1,694 MW in 2010)
• Power plants with a capacity of 600 MW geothermal, 3,000 MW solar energy
• making Turkey one of the top 10 countries in solar energy worldwide
Furthermore, it is also set forth within the same document that by 2023 technologically and economically feasible hydro potential will be totally exhausted (approximately 140 TWh); the wind power capacity will reach at 20,000 MW; 600 MW geothermal potential will come online; and the necessary steps will be taken to promote electricity generation based on solar energy.
The investment opportunities created by the reform process is too attractive for the potential investors to ignore as it promises room for investments in the renewable and environmental sector.
The massive interest and the involvement of the domestic and foreign investors in Turkish renewable energy markets and environmental technology during the last decade will continue to expand in the coming decade as well.
27.09.2012
Semiha Ünal
Consultant
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