Speaking in Ankara at the opening of a two-day conference on "Powering the energy transition: The role of renewable energy and energy efficiency," German Ambassador Martin Erdmann highlighted that Turkey and Germany should go hand-in-hand into the future.
Germany's Ambassador to Ankara Erdmann began his speech explaining how Turkey and Germany, with regard to resources and the future of renewable energy, are "sitting in the same boat."
"Namely, Germany is a country with limited resources in the field of energy and so is Turkey. Turkey compared to Germany has huge advantages," Erdmann said. "The biggest advantage is the surface area of your country, which is two and a half times that of Germany. This means there is ample space for renewable energy production."
"Second, Turkey is known as a country where the sun shines throughout the year. So for you the potential of solar energy is enormous. Third, you have a very technical-oriented production mode. I refer to huge companies, German companies in this country, Bosch, Siemens and others that are very important consumers of energy but also producers of energy," he added.
Erdmann also mentioned the recent successful wind-project tender that was contracted to the biggest German company in Turkey, Siemens, which he said "shows the very close cooperation between Turkey and Germany in the field of renewables."
The ambassador continued to say that the "German-Turkish consortium offered the lowest price with 3.48 dollar cents per kilowatt hour." "It is a joint venture German company and several Turkish companies," he said.
Erdmann underlined that "energy transition can put countries to obtain energy independence. That is a very important ingredient for the German and the Turkish future, to become more energy independent, to be producer of energy that is consumed in both countries."
"Turkey, due to its importance and the level of economic and technological development, can become a role model for the region in sustainable energy production and consumption," he said.
He ended his speech by highlighting the importance of holding such events and said that such conferences "bring together expertise from two-closely linked countries, like Turkey and Germany, despite the current atmosphere, and can foster cooperation and solutions on various topics."
"It can pave the way for steps forward in the global energy transition. My call to all of us is that Turkey and Germany in this respect should go hand-in-hand into the future," he concluded.
