RENEWABLE ENERGY IN TURKEY : WIND POTENTIAL

The Turkish government encourages investors to implement energy projects in Turkey with new incentives on renewable energy. This ensures that the government's feed-in tariff will accelerate investment projects in the coming years.

Turkey's total wind potential is approximately 88,000 MW and economically viable wind potential is approximately 10,000-12,000 MW. However, wind energy potential in Turkey is largely unutilized, with only 333,35 MW currently in use.

The total installed capacity of wind farms in Turkey has risen significantly from 50 MW in 2006 to 146 MW in 2007. As of September 2008, the total installed capacity has reached 333 MW. The approved overall capacity of wind farm projects totals 3,300 MW, with 143 MW under construction, 1,070 MW with a turbine supply contract and 1,782 MW licensed. 

Since the total installed capacity in Turkey is well behind the EU 27 average of 2,094 MW and the EU 15 average of 3,724 MW (2007), the Turkish wind energy market is still in its infancy, offering strong growth prospects. According to the figures issued by the European Wind Energy Association, Turkey has ranked first among other European countries with the highest growth rate of installed capacity. The growth rate of installed capacity in Turkey  was 192% by 2007. This ratio was 18% in EU 27, and 2% in EFTA countries. The high growth rate indicates that Turkey still has room for improvement in terms of utilizing the full market potential of its wind energy.