Turkish Parliament expected to adopt renewable energy law this week

Bonn/Istanbul (WWEA) – This week, the Turkish Parliament is expected to approve a renewable energy law which will provide feed-in tariffs for electricity from renewable energy sources including wind energy.

Turkey will have its first renewable energy law when deputies of the parliament vote for it this week in the national assembly. The Parliament Committee for Industry, Energy, Natural Resources, Information and Technology has already approved the draft Law on Utilisation of Renewable Energy Resources for Electricity Production.

The law will support wind, small hydro and geothermal power essentially and is expected to open the door to 4-5.000 MW of renewable energy installations in the next five years. The law sets up a purchase guarantee of 6ct/kWh for a period of 7 years for electricity generated from renewable energies. The law also includes references of support to geothermal, solar and biomass energy. Research and development of technologies and commercialisation will be particularly supported.

WWEA Vice President Tanay Sidki Uyar, Associate Professor at the Energy Section of Marmara University and President of EUROSOLAR Turkey, congratulates the parliament for a first decision of this kind in its history but warns also that the law falls short of exploiting the huge potential of the country, especially concerning the urban renewable energy potentials. Uyar is optimistic, however, concerning the new perspectives for the Turkish wind industry: “The new renewable energies law ies law will kick start an anxious but rigorous wind industry, create jobs and result in technology transfer."