Azernews.Az

By Kamila Aliyeva

Turkey, an energy-importing country, has plans to develop its renewable energy sector in order to be energy secure and independent.

The country seeks to invest $11 billion in the energy sector of the country during the period from 2017 to 2023, according to the Turkish Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources.

The energy sector is an important area for investment, given the country's high dependence on energy imports.

Over the past two years, $1.9 billion have been invested in the country's energy sector. As many as 30 percent of these funds are invested in the development of renewable energy sources.

The ministry noted that Turkey plans to build 10 wind power stations in five different provinces of the country.

Turkish Energy Minister Berat Albayrak earlier stated that the construction of new power plants will increase Turkey's energy security and reduce its dependence on other countries.

Albayrak also stressed that the new project of renewable energy sources will generate about 3,750 jobs.

Turkey held a tender for the construction of wind farms on August 3. German company Siemens became the winner. The German-Turkish consortium Siemens -Turkerler- Kalyon was established in order to carry out the construction work.

Wind farms will be located in five regions of Turkey, including the capital - Ankara, he added.

Turkey's demand for energy and electricity is increasing rapidly and heavily dependent on expensive imported energy resources [around 70 percent] that place a big burden on the economy.

At the same time, Turkey is one of the richest countries in the world in terms of renewable resources – hydro, wind, solar, geothermal and others. For geothermal energy the country is ranked first in Europe and seventh in the world. In addition, the solar energy is abundant due to its geographical position in the world.

Turkey is also one of the countries in the world possessing high hydroenergy potential. Wind energy potential in Turkey is estimated at 160 TWh.

Encouraging policies backed by favorable feed-in tariffs are expected to increase their share in the national grid in the coming years. The Turkish government has made it a priority to increase the share of renewable sources in the country’s total installed power to a remarkable 30 percent by 2023.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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