The number of banks choosing to finance renewable energy projects is on the rise, which is an important sign that the sector will further develop and improve in the coming period, said the deputy managing director of Turkey’s Sekerbank on Thursday.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Gokhan Erturk underlined that an awareness of renewable energy in Turkey has gradually increased over the past years.
In addition, banks and financial establishments, in accordance with the requirements of its customers; both individual and institutional, have brought out many credit and loan mechanisms formulated for a variety of needs, Erturk added.
The different loans include aid in irrigation for farmers, financing solar panel installation on roofs and insulations for buildings.
In the case of Sekerbank, “we have started a program called EKOkredi in 2009, designed to provide financial aid for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in the country,' he explained.
Since 2009, the bank has financed over 651 million Turkish liras in renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in Turkey, Erturk said.
He argued that these developments are indicative of the renewable energy market’s rising appeal in the eyes of financiers.
- Renewables on the agenda
In line with the current environment of increasing use of green energy, Erturk said that more of a focus on renewable energy projects is on Sekerbank’s agenda for 2016.
Together with a number of business partnerships, the bank aims to increase its involvement in energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.
“The bank follows energy efficiency projects closely and offers finance opportunities according to specific needs and requests,” he explained
“Solar energy is expected to be the most important field to draw attention to and the bank will evaluate these projects,” he stated and added the bank aims to incorporate more biomass projects into its portfolio in 2016.
He said the bank aims to provide finance in the sum of 300 million Turkish liras a year and plans to accelerate the insulation of houses targeting 60,000 residences each year.
Up to now, the bank has made finance available for the insulation of over 104,000 homes and saved 194 million cubic meters of unnecessary natural gas usage, Erturk said.
He added that Sekerbank hopes to provide 50 million Turkish liras in financial aid by the end of 2017 to assist in the construction of a 30-megawatt solar plant - a capacity which is enough for generating electricity for three medium sized cities.
By Zeynep Beyza Kilic
Anadolu Agency
zeynep.karabay@aa.com.tr