ANKARA
By Nuran Erkul and Oguzhan Ozsoy
Turkey has put more focus on generating energy from renewable resources, with a 35 percent increase in wind power capacity.
The total installed wind power capacity reached 3,581 megawatts by rising 926 megawatts compared to August, 2013, according to Turkish Wind Energy Association's statistics published on Wednesday.
Turkey wants to accelerate its attempts to reduce energy dependence on foreign resources and use more renewable energy.
The government put online within the last year 47 wind power plants constucted by private companies, statistics show.
The installed wind power capacity made up 5 percent of the total installed power capacity, which is over 68,000 megawatts.
Turkey's Aegean Region has become the preferred investment region for private-sector wind power plants, with the most plants. Those plants have a capacity of 1360 megawatts -- 38 percent of the country's total wind power capacity.
The Marmara Region is in second place, generating 1288 megawatts, or 36 percent of the total, while the Mediterranean Region ranks as third, with 537 megawatts of capacity.
Statistics show that Balikesir province ranks first, with 767 megawatts; Izmir is second, with 613; and Manisa is third, with 393 megawatts of installed capacity.
The country's year-end target is to reach around 4000 megawatt from wind power.
Turkey has more than 68,000 megawatts total installed capacity in electricity and it aims to reach 100,000 megawatt levels -- 30 percent of which will be from renewable energy including wind, solar, hydro power.
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