A breakthrough has been experienced with respect to wind, solar and geothermal-based installed power in Turkey

EY, a consultancy and auditing company, has announced the results of the 52nd Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index (RECAI). China and the US maintain their place in the first two places in the index, in which 40 countries are ranked in terms of renewable energy investments. According to the index results announced twice a year; while there was no major change in the ranking of the top 10 countries, governments' and industry leaders' playing the waiting game due to the ongoing geopolitical instability has been the major reason behind the stagnation. Brexit concerns led to a decline in the renewable energy investments of the UK, which ranked eighth in the index, falling one digit. On the other hand, Turkey ranks 18th in the same Index.

Nevertheless, we can see the transformation we are experiencing more clearly when we consider the renewable-based installed power table. When we examine the  growth table of the share of the renewable-based installed power in the total installed power in Turkey  between 2000 and 2017, we see that the installed power of our country was around 27.000 MW in 2000, and that the share of the total installed power of renewable energy in the total installed power of Turkey was approximately 41 percent. Furthermore, in 2000, almost all of the renewable-based installed power was derived from hydroelectric energy resources. When we consider the 2017 data, on the other hand, we see that Turkey's installed power has risen up to  85.200,0 MW; and the share of the total installed power of renewable energy in the total installed power of Turkey rose up to 45,5 percent. It is remarkable that last year, 70 percent of the total renewable installed power was accounted for by hydroelectric, 17 percent by wind, 9 percent by solar, 3 percent by geothermal and 1 percent by biomass energy.  It can be stressed that since 2000, a significant boost has occurred primarily in wind, solar and geothermal-based installed power; and it has been the locomotive factor in the growth in Turkey's installed power in recent years.

$650 Million Investment on Wind Energy in Turkey

2018 "Wind Energy Statistics Report"  of Turkey Wind Energy Association (TUREB) has been released. According to the report, Turkey's wind-based installed power increased by 497 MW last year. Thus, the installed power in the wind sector reached a total of 7,369 MW with a growth rate of 7.2 percent last year in comparison to the year before. Polat Energy ranked the first with 566 MW in the distribution of active wind power plants by investors, the total number of which increased from 164 to 180 last year. Demirer Energy ranked the second with 494 MW, and Guriş ranked the third with 481 MW.

When it comes to the ranking by provinces, Izmir ranked the first with 405 MW. It was respectively followed by Balıkesir with 1.123 MW and Manisa with 669 MW. While 38 percent of active WPPs  were located in the Aegean Region, 33 percent were located in Marmara, 13 percent were located in the Mediterranean and 9 percent were located in the Central Anatolia Region. According to the report, Akfen Energy had the biggest share with 243 MW in among 18 WPP 606 MW projects that were under construction. It was respectively followed by Ağaoğlu Energy with 124 MW, and Sancak Enerji with 72 MW. Of the projects under construction, 203 MW is located in Çanakkale, 124 MW in Balıkesir and 72 MW in İzmir.

TÜREB President Mustafa Serdar Ataseven evaluated the report: "Our realization of  $ 650 million investment in the wind sector in 2018 once again demonstrated what we can achieve despite the challenging conditions. We aimed to create a sustainable sector with our belief that in every challenge is harbored an opportunity" he said. Pointing out that they brought to the agenda the demands for capacity increase in the sector in order to ensure sustainability, Ataseven continued his remarks as follows: "This demand that would contribute to the sector was welcomed, and now, we expect the necessary steps to be taken in a few months. There will be a significant acceleration in our installed power this year and next year together with capacity increases. Then the results of the competitions held at the end of 2017 will begin to come out. Thus, the sector will continue its localization policy without slowing down. So far, approximately $11 billion was invested in the wind industry".