The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (ERD) welcomes Turkey's National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEEAP), which aims at reducing 14 percent of primary energy consumption by 2023 and investing almost $11 billion in energy efficiency measures, the Bank said in a statement on Thursday.
The Bank said that as Turkey is one of the fastest growing economies in the world with a real GDP growth expected to reach around 7 percent in 2017, its energy demand is set to increase.
The government expects economic growth to average around 5.5 percent a year for the coming three years, according to the statement.
"With increased growth comes increased energy consumption. According to government figures, Turkey has the highest growth rate of energy demand among all OECD countries. However, it is able to meet only around 26 percent of its total energy demand from domestic resources, and is dependent on imports for over 90 percent of its oil and gas needs," EBRD's statement showed.
"This dependency contributes heavily to the country’s external imbalances. Consequently improving energy efficiency is extremely important for the country," the EBRD warned.
The Bank said that the NEEAP would help tackle this challenge.
"Developed with the help of the EBRD and funded by the European Union, the NEEAP closely follows and mirrors the activities and policies of the European Union in the area of energy and energy efficiency," the statement read.
- Action plan is major step towards energy efficiency
The plan includes 55 actions in various sectors industry, transport, construction, agriculture, energy generation and transformation along with a large number of measures.
“This is a major step towards making a rapidly expanding economy also much more energy efficient," EBRD Managing Director for Turkey, Arvid was quoted in the statement.
He stated that the plan builds on the realization that a sustainable, efficient and prudent generation and consumption of energy is crucial for both economic growth and a sound environment.
"The action plan addresses the need to balance both aspects with detailed measures and where possible the EBRD stands ready to support this crucial effort,” he emphasized.
- Turkey is heavily investing in renewables
The Bank also assisted with the development of the National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP), which was financed by the government of Spain, the bank said.
Under the plan, the Bank is currently supporting the Turkish government in strengthening and streamlining the regulatory framework for the development of the renewable energy sector.
Turkey is also investing heavily in developing its potential in renewable sources of energy such as wind, solar, hydro and geothermal energy generation, the bank said.
The country plans to develop 30 percent of its total installed capacity from renewable sources by 2023. The objective is to add 34 gigawatts of hydropower, 20 gigawatts of wind energy, 5 gigawatts of solar energy, 1.5 gigawatts of geothermal and 1 gigawatt of biomass.
Turkey also aims to have 10 percent of its transport sector needs by renewable energy.
“Green” projects account for half of the Bank’s portfolio in Turkey and the Bank has invested €10 billion in various sectors of the country’s economy, with almost all investments in the private sector, the EBRD said in the statement.
By Nuran Erkul Kaya
Anadolu Agency
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