11 February 2021
Turkey offers more visibility on wind energy pipeline with new support scheme
Turkey’s government has announced a successor to its YEKDEM / Feed-in Tariff scheme.
YEKDEM (Turkish acronym for “Renewable Energy Resources Support Mechanism”) is Turkey’s main support scheme for onshore wind. It started in 2011 and was due to end on 31 December 2020. It was extended to 30 June 2021 to accommodate delays to projects under construction caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Turkey performed well on wind energy in 2020. It built 1.2 GW of new wind energy capacity last year and now has 9.3 GW of wind energy installed, which produces 9 per cent of the electricity Turkey consumes. 79 companies active in 15 different cities operate in the Turkish wind industry, employing 18,000 people. And 75 per cent of manufacturers export their components all over the world.
Turkey will build an additional 2 GW of new wind energy capacity in the first six months of 2021, thanks to the extension of the former YEKDEM. And the announcement of the new YEKDEM will help bring more visibility, predictability and bankability to investors. The new scheme is a 10-year Feed-in Tariff with 5-year local content incentives.
Regarding YEKA auctions, no clear schedule has been set by the Government yet. Turkey has had a good “Say to Do” ratio on wind energy, and maintaining it will be key to the market’s future growth.
