Turkish Wind Energy - the future

On 26 October, the Chairman of the Turkish Wind Energy Association (TÜREB), Ibrahim Erden, addressed members of the European Parliament on the contribution of wind energy to Europe’s renewable energy and how Türkiye is a major player in the “friend-shoring” of critical components necessary for the EU’s wind energy infrastructure. EU Reporter caught up with him ahead of the meeting to learn more about the sector.

We asked Erden how important wind was as a component of Türkiye’s renewable energy mix: “We produce approximately 106,000 megawatts in total. Of this around 50% is renewable produced and includes hydro, wind, solar and geothermal. Of this, wind accounts for around 12 gigawatts, that is around 11% of total annual energy production.”

“We have interconnectors with Greece and Bulgaria and we exchange a lot of energy between say Greece, Romania and nearby countries.”

Erden explains that Türkiye initially imported its turbines, but in 2009 when the Turkish government introduced a renewable energy law, local production was promoted and the market was transformed and started to flourish. To have some idea of the scale of the sector Erden says that by 2022 Türkiye has established 7,000 factories for blade factories, two generator factories, as well as hundreds of manufacturers producing various components for wind turbines.

A strong ecosystem

“The wind industrial ecosystem generates more than 1.5 billion euros of turnover annually through production of components for industry which supplies components to Türkiye, plus suppliers components to the EU,” says Erden. Approximately 70% of Türkiye’s manufacturing is destined for export markets, principally the EU. Erden says the ecosystem is very strong and includes towers, blades, generators  and other parts, “we are very well established in Türkiye and are strongly connected to the European ecosystem.”

Demand is growing year on year, “we are going to see more and more Turkish supply into European markets, which will support the growth of renewables.” Türkiye, like the EU has its own ambitious net-zero targets, aiming to reach this target by 2053.

The cooling of relations of the EU with China and the Russia invasion means that the EU needs to form stronger supply chains to suppliers that are more stable and closer: “Considering all these geopolitical developments and short-term risks, Turkish industrial infrastructure plays a critical role to fill the gap. “We believe that Turkish industrial production will be of increasing importance and help our counterparts in Europe in their search for a reliable and high quality supply chain in the region.”

Also present was Faruk Kaymakcı,  Ambassador, and Permanent Delegate of the Republic of Türkiye to the European Union, who told EU Reporter "
"Türkiye is an artery for energy security in Europe. Tomorrow in the European Parliament we are going to discuss the critical role of  Türkiye and the Turkish wind power industry for Europe. Actually, Turkey is number five in Europe in terms of installed renewable capacity, and the fifth largest provider of infrastructure to wind power systems in Europe. We believe that there is a lot more room for cooperation and believe that this can be further developed through Türkiye/EU high level dialogue on energy. Cooperation is thriving without policy interventions, but political support and facilitation would be win-win for Türkiye and the EU. "

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