PRE-RELEASE I TURKEY POWER 2015 Generation Interest in renewables drive generation in 2015 Currently standing as Europe's sixth largest economy, Turkey and its demand for electricity have expanded rapidly. Nearly doubling i n the past 12 years, Turkish energy consumption increased from 132.6 tWh in 2002 to 255.5 tWh in 2014. Since 1990, consumption has grown by 4.6% per annum, a path that the industry looks set to continue on until 2023 through which point in time annualized growth of 5% to 6% is expected. in 2023, Turkey's Ministry of Energy and Natura[ Resources predicts that total energy consumption could reach as high as 450 tWh. This, of course, has necessitated investments in generation. Commencing with the Ozan Korkmaz, partner, APLUS O Global Business Reports 1 Photovoltaic module supplied by Tekno Ray Solar. Photo courtesy ofTekno Ray Solar. introduction of Turkey's Energy Market Law in 2001, which marked the don of market liberalization, total installed generation capacity has grown within the country from 31,900 mW in 2012 to 69,500 mW in 2014. Totaling 6,000 mW per annum over the past three years, these investments have been executed almost exclusively by the private sector through expanding the country's network of natura! gas power plants and hydroelectric power dams. The story of Turkey's energy sector of today begins herein. Oil and gas-poor, Turkey is seeking to correct its heavy dependence on foreign supplies of natura! gas and its attendant foreign account deficit through expanding domestic generation of energy through renewable resources. This has been backed by a deeline in the desirability of natura! gas-fire power plants. Ozan Korkmaz, partner at APLUS, an energy investment and technology consultancy operating within the domestic market said: "At the moment there is little demand for additional natura! gas power plants in Turkey, similarly to the situation in Europe. Within the feasibility studies that APLUS has conducted over the course of the past year, we have continually seen that newly constructed natura! gasfire power plants are not profitable." With the country's potential for hydroelectric power generation ali but saturated at 23,600 mW, this will necessitate investment in new fields of energy. SOLAR Turkey's stili dormant solar industry has been the subject of fervent market speculation of late. Sun-rich, the country shows tremendous potential for solar energy production. The Turkish government targets raising $7 billion of investment for the sector over the course of the next years, the product of which, it hopes, will be a minimum of 3,000 mW of solar energy production. Extending from this goal and the Turkish government's larger ambition of meeting 30% of its domestic energy needs through renewable energy generation by 2023, the Turkish Electricity Transmission Company (TEİAŞ) is expected to allocate 600 mW of solar energy production licenses in 2015. This will be done through several rounds of license tenders. Announced in January of this year, the first of these rounds was completed earlier last month. Noted for the exorbitant price paid bywinning participants, which, forsome projects, stood at an amount greater than the cost of plant construction, the prices paid for these licenses led to speculation that these investments were driven more by pride than practicality. Mehmet Ozenbos, the sales and marketing manager of Tekno Ray Solar, a JV between Turkish Tekno, and ltalian Enerray, which supplies solar systems to the Turkish market explained: "Solar is a relatively new field for Turkey. The recent tender executed by TEIAS was a landmark event; it represented the first time that many had the opportunity to
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