As of the end of September 2024, Turkey’s wind energy installed capacity is 12,369 MW and the number of wind turbines in operation is 4,282. Wind energy installed capacity is around 10.8% of the total installed capacity as of October 2024, and the share of wind in electricity generation is around 10.9%. It is clearly predicted that the figures mentioned above will increase very rapidly in line with Turkey’s 2030 and 2053 targets.
With the large investments made in renewable energy in the past decades and state incentives, Turkey’s renewable energy installed capacity has surpassed fossil fuel energy production plants. However, while all investors have made serious progress in financing, permitting processes, environment and sustainability, and especially in the construction and installation of facilities, and gained know-how and reached world standards, this development has not occurred at the same level, especially in the field of operation and maintenance of renewable facilities.
Although there are currently many companies in the Turkish market in various renewable energy branches, manufacturing, supply, construction, project design and financing, there are not enough competent companies at the local level, especially in wind turbine operation and maintenance. Currently, all operating plants carry out wind turbine maintenance and operation with the teams of turbine supplier companies due to both credit and insurance conditions and because there are no other alternatives.
At this point, especially in wind turbine plants that have completed their credit repayment and exited the YEKDEM mechanism, which are now considered as very old generation by turbine manufacturers and whose maintenance and operation are no longer very profitable, especially for turbine manufacturers, the need for an independent and competent maintenance and operation company has arisen and this need is becoming more and more crucial. By 2026, a total of 2.1 GW more wind power plants will exit the YEKDEM mechanism and start selling in the free market. For free market players, availability and turbine efficiency are even more critical, and consistent production estimates and the readiness of the plants to operate are of great importance, especially at variable market prices.
Turkey is among the few countries in Europe, especially in the field of engineering, and with the know-how it has in technical universities and in locomotive construction and engineering companies that have been around for half a century, it is at a level where it can provide wind turbine service and maintenance services from A to Z. What is important at this point is the appetite of the companies in this regard, the correct evaluation of this market, which currently has a serious deficit and need, and the necessary investments to be made within the scope of long-term plans.
In the coming days, we will all experience together how the wind turbine service, maintenance and repair trend will progress in Turkey, what kind of needs will arise and how they will be met.
Time will tell the rest…
