Turkish government will hold the country’s first offshore wind tender this year, with the tender details set to be disclosed in the spring, Turkey’s Energy Minister Berat Albayrak announced on 22 February, according to Anadolu Agency (AA) and Daily Sabah . Turkey’s first offshore wind farm will be installed in the Aegean Sea, Daily Sabah writes.
The tender will be held as part of the country’s second Renewable Energy Resource Zone Project (YEKA) auction, after the first one was held in 2017.
Having installed 7GW of wind energy capacity over the last decade, Turkey’s wind energy sector has the required business experience and, with the announcement of its first offshore wind tender, the country is well set to join “the wind sector’s first league.” This is according to Hakan Yildirim , CEO at Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy Turkey, which just signed an agreement to supply up to 1GW of wind turbines across several Turkish wind farms, after the company won the deal at Turkey’s first YEKA auction together with Kalyon Enerji and Turkerler Holding.
In 2015, consultancy company Totaro & Associates discussed the unexploited offshore wind potential in Turkey in a research report . According to the report, the offshore wind market potential had been largely underestimated or ignored due to transmission complexities, water depths and the limited available wind data at 80m. As onshore transmission infrastructure investments were underway at the time of the report being put together, the consultancy said that would facilitate offshore developments in adjacent regions.
Regarding the technology most suitable for the country, the report recognised floating and tension leg platform (TLP) foundation designs as the ones that would enable access to more wind potential than previously anticipated.
Following the announcement of the first offshore wind tender, WindEurope’s CEO Giles Dickson also pointed to floating wind as the most favourable for Turkey. “This and investments in onshore transmission infrastructure could help Turkey exploit its offshore wind potential and add to the economic benefits wind power is already bringing to the country,” Anadolu Agency quotes Dickson as saying.
When it comes to offshore wind in the Turkish part of the Aegean Sea, the area around Gökçeada – particularly to the west, as well as the area north of Ayvalık hold the most greatest potential, according to the Totaro & Associates 2015 report.
Offshore WIND Staff