Dr. Murat Durak, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Offshore Wind Energy Association (DURED), said that the field sizes of the Renewable Energy Resource Area (YEKA) for the offshore wind power plant in Turkiye were determined in August and technical studies could start in 2024.
Durak said that Turkiye, which imports more than two-thirds of its energy needs, should increase supply security and domestic resource diversity.
Reminding that the YEKA areas where Turkiye will carry out offshore wind energy projects have been clarified, Durak said, “1111 square kilometers off the coast of Bandirma, 299 square kilometers off Bozcaada, 75.6 square kilometers off Gelibolu and 410 square kilometers off the coast of Karabiga have been allocated for offshore wind energy.”
Durak stated that after receiving opinions from the relevant institutions and organizations for the allocated YEKA, pre-feasibility studies consisting of meteorological and oceanographic analyzes and measurements will be carried out in certain areas. “Technical studies at sea can be started in 2024. The base price of the Renewable Energy Resources Support Mechanism (YEKDEM) for offshore wind power plant projects has been determined as 6.75 cents/dollar per kilowatt-hour, and the ceiling price has been determined as 8.25 cents/dollar per kilowatt-hour.”
Durak also shared the information that YEKDEM’s implementation period is 10 years and reminded that the local contribution price implementation period for these facilities is 5 years.
Interest in the offshore wind energy sector is increasing
Durak pointed out that there are regions with high potential for floating and fixed-based installations in wind in Turkiye and said, “A potential of 13.9 gigawatts for floating installations and 1.3 gigawatts for fixed-based installations was detected in the Black Sea. There is a potential of 19.2 gigawatts for floating installations and 2.8 gigawatts for fixed-based installations in the Marmara Sea.”
Stating that Turkiye’s offshore wind installation target is 5 gigawatts in 2035, Durak said that the total wind capacity target is 29.6 gigawatts.
Durak pointed out that important targets were announced in the field of offshore wind worldwide and said, “While 10% of the total wind energy capacity in the world put into operation in 2019 consisted of offshore, it is predicted that this rate will increase to 20% after 2025.”
Stating that it is estimated that there will be 460 gigawatts of offshore wind energy capacity in the world by 2030, Durak said:
“Although Japan commissioned the first offshore wind project in Asia in 2003, the real start of the offshore wind energy market in Asia was in 2014. China took the first step by announcing its national plan in 2014. China, which reached 1 gigawatt offshore wind installed capacity in 2017, surpassed the UK a year later. The second largest offshore wind market in the Asian market is Taiwan. Offshore wind energy is projected to grow by 8.4% annually in Asia by 2030. The top 5 markets are China (52 gigawatts), Taiwan (10.5 gigawatts), South Korea (7.9 gigawatts), Japan (7.4 gigawatts) and Vietnam (5.2 gigawatts).”
Durak reminded that the first commercial offshore wind energy in North America was established in Rhode Island in December 2016, with an installed capacity of 30 megawatts.
Stating that many offshore wind energy projects are currently under development in the American continent, Durak said, “According to the capacity projection, 10 gigawatts of capacity is estimated in 2030. 1 gigawatt of this is planned to be in Canada and 9 gigawatts in the USA.”
Source: Trthaber / Prepared by Irem Yildiz