Türkiye achieved its strongest performance in wind energy over the past 15 years with nearly 2,000 megawatts (MW) of new installations last year, Ibrahim Erden, president of the Turkish Wind Energy Association (TWEA) said on Monday.
In an interview to Anadolu, on the sidelines of the 16th General Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Erden said that Türkiye's installed electrical capacity in wind power has exceeded 14,700 MW, while its mechanical installed capacity has surpassed 15,000 MW.
Noting that last year was recorded as a year of preparation in terms of permitting processes and new projects in wind energy investments, Erden said, "With approximately 2,000 MW of installations in a single year, the strongest performance of the last 15 years was achieved," he explained.
"We foresee 2026 as the year of commissioning wind power plants, bringing the first storage-integrated facilities into operation, and seeing tangible results in industry," he said.
- 'Renewable energy investments have become competitive'
Erden stated that there are financing-related challenges in renewable energy projects worldwide, but in Türkiye, efforts are being made to ensure the predictability of investments through the targets set and the projects completed.
He emphasized that until the 2010's renewable energy investments were seen as "alternative energy" and sometimes even as a form of social responsibility, but today clean energy is accepted as an international reality through governments' energy and climate change policies.
"In the renewable energy sector, sustainability and predictability in financing are more important than ever," he said.
Erden added that financing conditions in Türkiye are progressing in parallel with global trends.
Stating that Türkiye has taken important steps to provide the long-needed predictability in renewable energy, Erden said: "The clear targets Türkiye has set for 2035 also represent an intermediate stage on the path toward the 2053 goals."
He concluded that in the coming years, more concrete steps toward 2053 are expected to be announced.
By Gulsen Cagatay
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr
