Türkiye’s wind energy installed capacity is expected to increase to 29.6 gigawatts by 2035, 5 gigawatts of which is offshore.
The projections were laid out by the recently-published Türkiye National Energy Plan, which was prepared on the basis of the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry’s target of achieving net zero emissions in 2053.
The plan, accordingly, included steps to be taken until 2035.
Some 96.6 gigawatts of electricity capacity is planned to be commissioned in the 2020-2035 period, according to the plan.
It is calculated that the share of intermittent renewable energy sources in electricity installed power will increase to 43.5% and the share of renewable energy sources to 64.7% in the said period.
In the plan, the country's wind power installed capacity is targeted to be 29.6 gigawatts in 2035, of which 24.6 gigawatts is onshore and 5 gigawatts is offshore.
Veli Bilgihan Yaşacan, vice chairperson of the board of the Offshore Wind Energy Association (DURED), evaluated the offshore wind energy installation target of Türkiye, which was announced for the first time with the report.
Stating that the announcement of the target is an important start for the sector, Yaşacan said, "As the association, we think that this step will contribute to our country's being a supply base for offshore wind power plants and to the development of the maritime sector.”
Emphasizing that green hydrogen production can also be done with offshore power plants, Yaşacan said, “Offshore wind energy is an unused area of Türkiye that has great potential.”
“New approaches in renewable energy are being tried around the world within the framework of energy business models and needs,” he went on to say and that the wind is not only used to generate energy, but also used in hydrogen production.
“In Türkiye, these power plants can be used in green hydrogen production,” he stressed.
Türkiye is among the four countries with the highest offshore wind energy potential, according to a Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) report published last year.
The GWEC's "Global Wind Report 2022" emphasized that Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Australia and Sri Lanka stand out as the countries with the highest offshore wind energy potential.
Türkiye's onshore wind energy installed power is at the level of 11 gigawatts. The potential of the country, which does not have an offshore wind power plant yet, is calculated as 70 gigawatts.
