The year 2022 is the "year of records" in electricity generation from wind energy, Turkish Wind Energy Association (TÜREB) head Ibrahim Erden said Sunday, and that their priority for next year "will be the subject of strong investment together with the industry."

"We are declaring the 100th anniversary of our republic the year of investment for the wind industry," he said.

Erden said that a very active year in which the power, visibility and efficiency of the wind energy sector in Türkiye came to the fore was completed.

Pointing out that Türkiye is Europe's most reliable partner in the wind energy supply chain with an export volume of 1.5 billion euros ($1.60 billion), Erden said that as TÜREB, they had the opportunity to demonstrate this vitality in the sector in the international arena through events in Europe.

Pointing out that exceeding the 10,000-megawatt threshold in Türkiye's installed wind power in 2021 is an important milestone, Erden said: "We declared last year as the year of industry. The year 2022 was a year in which wind-installed power approached the level of 12,000 megawatts. In terms of the Turkish wind industry, it was a year in which broke production records one after the other, and the wind-powered generation on a daily basis increased to 25%-27%."

"We predicted that energy supply security would become one of the most important topics on the world agenda in the post-pandemic period. With such a perspective," Erden went on to say, stressing that Türkiye's wind industry will benefit from its world-class production capabilities, well-trained human resources, and logistics and cost advantages stemming from the country's geographical location.

Erden said that, "With an investment of 3.6 billion euros ... it is possible to install 3 gigawatts of wind power per year."

"In 2023, our priority will be the subject of strong investment together with the industry," he said.

"We have a very serious wind investment potential."

Saying that approximately 33 terawatt-hours of the electricity produced in Türkiye come from wind," Erden noted: "Last year, we brought a newly installed power of around 1,700 megawatts to our country, but considering our potential, our industry is capable of realizing at least 3 gigawatts of newly installed power per year."

"Our 2023 target is to further pave the way for investments."

Erden said new areas such as energy storage, hydrogen and offshore wind are essential topics in the sector's agenda.

Pointing out that there are many license applications for wind energy storage, Erden said: "The energy storage projects, which we believe will be the subject of investments in the coming years, will be an area that will expand not only the wind but the entire renewable energy sector."

"We think the topics of hydrogen and offshore wind will occupy an important place in our agenda next year. We anticipate that ... will announce some investment plans in these areas in 2023."