Spain willing to invest in wind energy in Turkey

A Spanish association expressed the country's eagerness to invest in Turkey’s wind energy sector on Thursday.

"Spain is very experienced in wind energy, and Spanish companies want to invest in other countries," said Alberto Cena, the technical director of the Spanish Wind Energy Association, or AEE. Cena, who is visiting Istanbul to attend a conference, added that the association wanted to construct wind facilities and carry out new projects in Turkey.

The director said he wanted to carry a message to Turkish executives that investment costs in wind energy were lower than they thought.

In regards to their dependency on other countries’ energy, Turkey and Spain are very much alike, said Cena said. "Therefore, the two countries must think of using natural energy opportunities like wind energy," he said.

According to the Spanish companies, the biggest problem in Turkey, when it comes to renewable energy, is the unclear laws. Those uncertainties have to be eliminated in order to make way to lure investments, Cena said.

Pointing out the similarities between Turkey and Spain in terms of geography and wind conditions, Cena added that Turkey could be a passage for Spanish companies to open out to other international markets.

Spain is the world's fourth biggest producer of wind power, after the United States, Germany and China. Wind energy has reached 20,000 megawatts in Spain today, and Spain meets 14 percent of its electricity demand from wind energy. The largest producer of wind power in Spain at the end of 2009 was Iberdrola, with 25.5 percent of capacity, followed by Acciona on 20.9 percent and NEO Energia with 8.3 percent.

The Energy Market Regulatory Authority, or EMRA. provided licenses for wind turbines that will have 3,350 megawatts of installed capacity, Energy Minister Taner Yıldız said in February.

In 2002, Turkey had next to none wind energy recourses, he said. In 2009, wind energy capacity of the country reached 802 megawatts, Yıldız said. He added that figure will increase to 2,200 megawatts within the next two years.

As of November 2009, Turkey added wind turbines with installed capacity of 374 megawatts. Also by that date, hydroelectric power plants with 564 megawatt-capacity also stepped in by that time, and geothermal energy plants with installed capacity of 47.4 megawatts were added to the country’s energy resources.

The objectives of the association are to overcome the technical and statutory barriers that affect the growth of wind power and to maintain and consolidate the retributive regime of the electrical production of wind origin that allows the sustainable development of the sector. It also aims to become the meeting point for the main characters of the wind power market and the only valid interlocutor of the sector as well as generate opportunities to attract investment for the development of wind energy.

Reference: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=spain-willing-to-invest-in-wind-energy-in-turkey-2010-05-27