TÜREB “Wind Energy Investor Meeting” attracts great interest from the business world

Turkey, which is among the leading countries of the wind energy ecosystem in Europe and the world with its rapidly growing wind energy investments and industry, is taking firm steps towards its target of 48 GW of installed power by 2035, 43 GW of which will be terrestrial and 5 GW of which will be offshore. The TÜREB “Wind Energy Investor Meeting”, which brought together investors, manufacturers and sector professionals in this context, was held with intense participation. In the meeting sponsored by Aksa Elektrik, Türkiye’s current capacity in wind energy, investment strategies, its position in the global energy transformation and current data on the sector’s development process were comprehensively evaluated.

The event, which was presented and moderated by TÜREB Vice President of Investors and Aksa Renewable Energy Deputy General Manager Erinç Kısa, was opened by Kazancı Holding Vice Chairman Naci Ağbal, TÜREB Chairman Dr. İbrahim Erden, and Aksa Renewable Energy General Manager Murat Kirazlı. Panel speakers included Gama Energy Board Member, General Manager and Energy Producers Association (EÜD) President Tamer Çalışır, SmartPulse CEO and Founding Partner Önder Akar, Aksa Electricity Trade Group Manager Birol Henden, Entek Electric Board Member, General Manager and ETD President Bilal Tuğrul Kaya, and APLUS Energy Managing Partner Volkan Yiğit.

Aksa Renewable Energy General Manager Murat Kirazlı: “As Aksa Group, we are not only an investor or a producer; we are also a structure that provides services to the sector and aims to contribute to its development. Therefore, we are pleased to be a supporter of such events. The Investors Meeting held today is very important for us in terms of both the position of our power plants in the market and the most current investment areas.”

INVESTMENTS WILL ACCELERATE WITH THE SUPER PERMIT LAW

Turkish Wind Energy Association TÜREB President Dr. İbrahim Erden: “The wind energy sector is going through a significant transformation process. We have recently attended many meetings both in Türkiye and internationally. We hosted more than 500 foreign guests at the event we organized in Istanbul, and we met with the heads of more than 40 organizations worldwide in Berlin. Our common goal is to further increase wind energy and renewable resources. Our country is ahead of many countries in terms of installed power and potential. The new law will soon be discussed in the Parliament and investments will accelerate. We expect the processes to decrease to 2-3 years. There will also be regulations regarding energy prices in the near future. In today’s meeting, we will discuss critical issues such as market integration of wind power plants and storage technologies. There are more than 600 wind and solar pre-licenses in our country; the first licenses have started to be obtained and the facilities are rapidly coming into operation. We have a great need for financing. An investment of 35 billion dollars is planned for the next 10 years and approximately 3,500 megawatts of capacity needs to be established for this. We will do our part for the development of the projects both as a sector and as a public.” He used the expressions.

Türkiye SHOULD PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES

Kazancı Holding Vice Chairman of the Board Naci Ağbal: “I am here today as a company manager who makes investments, carries out production and provides services in different areas of energy on the private sector side. Shortening and simplifying investment processes and paving the way for investors have been issues on our agenda for a long time. While our installed wind power was around 1000 MW in 2016, today it has reached 14,000 MW. This is an important achievement for our country. We are now in a period where we need to progress much faster. Because not only we, but also the world is progressing in this area. In this respect, I find the 2035 goals set by our Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources ambitious and necessary. However, in order to achieve these goals, it is not enough to just make regulations; they need to be implemented and effective in practice. The financing side is at least as critical as these goals. It is essential to provide suitable financing conditions, reduce financing costs and diversify the financial instruments that investors can access. On the other hand, the investment environment also needs to be improved.”

Ağbal, who emphasized that the technological disruptions and new balances of power that started in the 2000s had an impact on economic growth, said: “Renewable energy investments will increase in the process. The share of renewable energy will grow unstoppably. What is critical here is who will hold and produce renewable energy technologies. Türkiye also needs to play a strong role in the production and dissemination of these technologies. The balancing process in the Turkish economy continues. I believe that we will reach a healthier economic structure at the end of this process.”

While investors' opinions and suggestions were discussed at the TÜREB Wind Energy Investor Meeting, the importance of public-private sector cooperation for the sustainable growth of the sector was emphasized. Investors who play a critical role in Türkiye's transition to clean energy were brought together to contribute to the sharing of information and the development of strategic partnerships.