Wind power
Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller impact on the environment than burning fossil fuels. Historically ...
generates about 10% of
Turkey's electricity, mainly in the west in the
Aegean and
Marmara regions, and is gradually becoming a larger share of
renewable energy in the country. , Turkey has 11
gigawatts
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wat ...
(GW) of
wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each yea ...
s. The
Energy Ministry plans to have almost 30 GW by 2035.
The state-owned
Electricity Generation Company (EÜAŞ) has about 20% of the market, and there are many private companies.
The highest ever daily share of wind power was 25%, in 2022.
Building new wind farms is cheaper than running existing coal plants which depend on imported
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when ...
.
According to modelling by
Carbon Tracker
Carbon Tracker is a London-based not-for-profit think tank researching the impact of climate change on financial markets.
Carbon Tracker popularized the notion of a carbon bubble, which describes the incompatibility between the continued devel ...
, new wind will be cheaper than
all existing coal plants by 2027.
History
![Bodrum historic windmill](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Bodrum_historic_windmill.jpg)
Some of the earliest windmills were built 400 years ago out of stone. Using wind from the
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...
, these mills were used to grind wheat into flour until the 1970s. On windy days a mill could grind 20 sacks of wheat (about 320 kg) in an hour, and corn and barley were also milled.
Such historic windmills on the Bodrum Peninsula are being restored for
tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...
.
Likewise, on
Bozcaada, two derelict mills have been reconstructed and are used for tourist demonstrations.
The first
wind farm
A wind farm or wind park, also called a wind power station or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind turb ...
was built in
Izmir in 1998.
While the installed capacity of
wind power
Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller impact on the environment than burning fossil fuels. Historically ...
was 19
megawatts
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wat ...
(MW) in 2006, it grew to 140 MW by 2007, and to over 1,600 MW by 2011. In the 2010s some windpower was used for
carbon offset
A carbon offset is a reduction or removal of emissions of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases made in order to compensate for emissions made elsewhere. Offsets are measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO2e). One ton of carb ...
s.
A
wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each yea ...
factory was completed in 2019, also in İzmir.
In 2020 1.6 billion euros were invested in wind power.
Hybrid generation became more popular in the early 2020s.
Wind farms
There are about 300
wind farms in Turkey, all onshore, totalling about 4,000 wind turbines. In 2022 total installed capacity passed 11 GW,
and
capacity factor
The net capacity factor is the unitless ratio of actual electrical energy output over a given period of time to the theoretical maximum electrical energy output over that period. The theoretical maximum energy output of a given installation is def ...
is high
at around 40%. The company with the most wind power (nine wind farms as of 2022) is Borusan EnBW Enerji, a joint venture between
Borusan
Borusan Holding A.Ş. is a Turkish industrial group headquartered in Istanbul, Turkey. Its activities include steel manufacturing, car distribution, energy generation and logistics. The company was founded by Asım Kocabıyık in 1944 to trade iro ...
and Germany power utility
Energie Baden-Wurttemberg. The maximum power of unlicensed installations is 5 MW.
One billion euros was invested in 2021 and 1.4 GW built: average power rating was over 5 GW, which was higher than other European countries onshore. the largest
wind farm in the country is
Soma
Soma may refer to:
Businesses and brands
* SOMA (architects), a New York–based firm of architects
* Soma (company), a company that designs eco-friendly water filtration systems
* SOMA Fabrications, a builder of bicycle frames and other bicycle ...
, followed by Karaburun.
Aliağa Wind Farm
Bahçe Wind Farm
Çanta Wind Farm
Dağpazarı Wind Farm
Mut Wind Farm
Şamlı Wind Farm
Soma Wind Farm
Planned and under construction
In 2022 contracts for 20 wind farms totalling 850 MW were auctioned at prices from 408
lira (USD 24/EUR 22) to 778 lira per MWh. However the government target of 20 GW by 2023 was not met.
The government published a long-term National Energy Plan in 2023 which targets almost 30 GW by 2035.
Onshore wind potential
![Wind speed in Turkey](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Wind_speed_in_Turkey.png)
The
Energy Ministry estimates onshore potential as 48 GW at 50 m altitude in places with wind speed over 7.5 m/s: the estimate assumes 5 MW capacity turbines. The north-west is the windiest, averaging about 7 m/s at 50 m high, and has the most wind farms.
Mountain ranges in the west run at right angles to the coast, so wind flows easily inland. Also, the north-west uses a lot of energy, so there are only a few wind farms in other parts of the country.
A
high-voltage direct current
A high-voltage direct current (HVDC) electric power transmission system (also called a power superhighway or an electrical superhighway) uses direct current (DC) for electric power transmission, in contrast with the more common alternating curre ...
link from the windy islands of
Bozcaada and
Gokceada to
Istanbul
)
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, postal_code = 34000 to 34990
, area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side)
, registration_plate = 34
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, blank_i ...
has been suggested. For an off-grid
zero-energy house, an islanded hybrid system with solar and
battery
Battery most often refers to:
* Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power
* Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact
Battery may also refer to:
Energy source
*Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
has been suggested.
The politics of electricity generation are almost all about its price, not about wind power specifically. In general public opinion supports wind power, although sometimes locals complain of insufficient consultation.
Offshore wind potential
Technical potential is 12 GW fixed and 63 GW
floating turbines.
There is collaboration with
Denmark
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, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establish ...
to plan
offshore wind power
Offshore wind power or offshore wind energy is the generation of electricity through wind farms in bodies of water, usually at sea. There are higher wind speeds offshore than on land, so offshore farms generate more electricity per amount of c ...
: the
Marmara Sea
The Sea of Marmara,; grc, Προποντίς, Προποντίδα, Propontís, Propontída also known as the Marmara Sea, is an inland sea located entirely within the borders of Turkey. It connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea via the ...
is considered most suitable, but the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
is also a possible location, as is the
Aegean near
Çanakkale
Çanakkale (pronounced ), ancient ''Dardanellia'' (), is a city and seaport in Turkey in Çanakkale province on the southern shore of the Dardanelles at their narrowest point. The population of the city is 195,439 (2021 estimate).
Çanakkale is ...
. Floating turbines have been modelled because off many coasts depths increase quickly. A 2022 study suggested that the
grid code A grid code is a technical specification which defines the parameters a facility connected to a public electric grid has to meet to ensure safe, secure and economic proper functioning of the electric system. The facility can be an electricity gener ...
needed improvements, specifically that "active power control and frequency regulation, reactive power control and voltage regulation, and voltage
ride-through capabilities should be clarified in detail".
Environmental impact
Wind farms are prohibited on globally important
bird migration routes (including critical migration bottlenecks such as
İstanbul Strait,
Çanakkale Strait,
Belen in
Hatay
Hatay Province ( tr, Hatay ili, ) is the southernmost province of Turkey. It is situated almost entirely outside Anatolia, along the eastern coast of the Levantine Sea. The province borders Syria to its south and east, the Turkish province of ...
,
Borçka
Borçka ( lzz, ბორჩხა, translit=Borçxa; ka, ბორჩხა, translit=Borchkha or ) is a town and district of Artvin Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey, on the border with Georgia.
Borçka is reached by a winding road up ...
in
Artvin
Artvin ( Laz and ; hy, Արտուին, translit=Artuin) is a city in northeastern Turkey about inland from the Black Sea.
It is located on a hill overlooking the Çoruh River near the Deriner Dam. It is a former bishopric and (vacant) Armeni ...
), some of which are high wind speed areas.
On average one or two birds are estimated to be killed by each turbine each year, mostly small- and medium-size birds.
However, the study found that the number of fatalities was not related to the number of birds or flights near the turbine.
Environmental impact reports are more stringent for wind farms over 50 MW.
As the wind farms are relatively new and are assumed to operate for 25 years, their
lifecycle environmental impact, such as what percentage of various metals will be recycled, is not yet known exactly. However, as their electricity is substituting that of
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when ...
and gas-fired
power stations
A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid.
Many po ...
, it is certain that they are an overall good for the environment by helping to limit
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by Turkey. Lifecycle GHG emissions have been estimated at 15 g CO2eq/kWh (whereas fossil fuel power emits hundreds of g CO2 eq./kWh).
Economics
The Turkish Wind Energy Association said in 2021 that over 20 thousand people were directly employed by the sector.
According to a May 2022 report from think tank
Ember, wind and
solar saved 7 billion dollars on
gas
Gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, liquid, and plasma).
A pure gas may be made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon), elemental molecules made from one type of atom (e.g. oxygen), or ...
imports in the preceding 12 months.
Feed-in tariff
From 2005, there was a
feed-in tariff
A feed-in tariff (FIT, FiT, standard offer contract,Couture, T., Cory, K., Kreycik, C., Williams, E., (2010)Policymaker's Guide to Feed-in Tariff Policy Design National Renewable Energy Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy advanced renewable tariff, ...
in
Turkish lira
The lira ( tr, Türk lirası; sign: ₺; ISO 4217 code: TRY; abbreviation: TL) is the official currency of Turkey and Northern Cyprus. One lira is divided into one hundred ''kuruş''.
History
Ottoman lira (1844–1923)
The lira, along with ...
which met with poor market uptake.
After being denominated in dollars from 2011 to 2020, the tariff reverted to lira with new rules.
The feed-in tariff applies for 10 years.
There are extra payments for domestic content.
Auctions
![Electricity Turkey](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Electricity_Turkey.svg)
In 2017, the
Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources
The Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources is the government ministry of Republic of Turkey responsible for natural resources and energy in Turkey. The ministry is headed by Fatih Dönmez. Despite the ministry being represented on the Climate ...
launched a US$1 billion wind power investment project, and issued a
request for tender
An invitation to tender (ITT, otherwise known as a call for bids or a request for tenders) is a formal, structured procedure for generating competing offers from different potential suppliers or contractors looking to obtain an award of business ...
. The project, titled YEKA, was for
wind farm
A wind farm or wind park, also called a wind power station or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind turb ...
s in five different regions in the country with a total power capacity of 1 GW and at least 3
TWh energy generated annually,
an extra 1% of
electricity in Turkey.
The German-Turkish consortium of
Siemens-Türkerler-
Kalyon bid lowest at US$34.8 per
MWh. The consortium is carrying out
research and development, for ten years, on
wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each yea ...
blades, generator design, material technologies and production techniques, software and innovative gearboxes. The R&D is done by fifty technical personnel, 80% of whom are Turkish engineers, with a budget of US$5 million per year.
In 2019, the second 1 GW tender was won for four equal capacity projects in
Balıkesir
Balıkesir () is a city in Turkey and is the capital city of Balıkesir Province. Balıkesir is located in the Marmara region of Turkey and has a population of 338,936. Between 1341–1922, it was the capital of Karasi.
History
Close to ...
,
Çanakkale
Çanakkale (pronounced ), ancient ''Dardanellia'' (), is a city and seaport in Turkey in Çanakkale province on the southern shore of the Dardanelles at their narrowest point. The population of the city is 195,439 (2021 estimate).
Çanakkale is ...
,
Aydın and
Muğla
Muğla () is a city in southwestern Turkey. The city is the center of the District of Menteşe and Muğla Province, which stretches along Turkey's Aegean coast. Muğla's center is situated inland at an altitude of 660 m and lies at a dista ...
, which are all provinces on the west coast. The same year the
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development invested US$100 million in wind and
solar power in Turkey
The climate of Turkey is very suitable for solar energy as solar potential is very high, especially in the South Eastern Anatolia and Mediterranean regions. Solar is a growing part of renewable energy in the country, with solar panels generatin ...
. auction prices were around US$40 per MWh. Think tank
Ember say that
energy policy should be changed to auction for far more
solar and wind power.
Since April 2022 low-cost generators such as wind have had their wholesale prices capped (this does not affect unlicensed and FiT): this can be considered a type of
windfall tax.
it is unclear whether the money will be a general tax or will be used to subsidise high-cost generators such as
gas
Gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, liquid, and plasma).
A pure gas may be made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon), elemental molecules made from one type of atom (e.g. oxygen), or ...
.
Merchant projects have won licences with
negative bids (meaning the companies pay the government for licences) and are expected to come online in the mid-2020s.
Manufacturing
Nacelles are manufactured locally by
Siemens, but most wind turbines are imported.
Over half of the supply chain is local, from about 80 companies.
It has been estimated that there is potential for about 240 million tons of
green hydrogen
Green hydrogen (GH2 or GH2) is hydrogen generated by renewable energy or from low-carbon power.
Green hydrogen has significantly lower carbon emissions than grey hydrogen, which is produced by steam reforming of natural gas, which makes up the b ...
to be produced by
electrolysis of water
Electrolysis of water, also known as electrochemical water splitting, is the process of using electricity to decompose water into oxygen and hydrogen gas by electrolysis. Hydrogen gas released in this way can be used as hydrogen fuel, or remi ...
by wind power.
See also
*
Energy law
Energy laws govern the use and taxation of energy, both renewable and non-renewable. These laws are the primary authorities (such as caselaw, statutes, rules, regulations and edicts) related to energy. In contrast, energy policy refers to th ...
*
Energy in Turkey#Policy and regulation
External links
Turkish Wind Energy AssociationUp-to-date statistics on wind power in Turkey
References
{{Wind power by country