D-8 Keen to develop Turkish Wind Energy Potentials

Istanbul, Turkey | June 19, 2008 by D-8 Secretariat

Turkey is gearing up to expand its position in the renewable energy market by taking steps with Europe’s largest engineering conglomerate, Siemens, to increase its potentials in renewable energies.

Siemens Turkey CEO Hüseyin Gelis and Wolfgang Dehen, a board member and the company’s energy division CEO, expressed their strong will to invest in the Turkish wind energy business in particular at a roundtable with members of the press in İstanbul on Tuesday. “We see a huge market of opportunities in Turkey’s energy sector. And we strongly wish to invest in this market!” Dehen said, as reported by Turkish media source.

“Turkey is among the world’s top five fastest growing countries and is currently the 17th most important economic power of the world, with the potential to move up to 15th place in 2008,” Dehen said, explaining that these growth rates will naturally be reflected by a rapidly increasing demand for energy in the future.

Renewable energy sources, he underlined, will therefore play a very important role in the future. He expects that in 2030 a significant part of energy supply will be covered by renewable energy sources and noted that Siemens wants to address this challenge by investing in the wind energy business in particular.

Wind energy most promising

“We need good and fast solutions,” he said, noting that wind energy still remains the one energy source that can be harnessed in a relatively short amount of time. While it takes around five years to bring a nuclear power plant into service and two to three years for a natural gas power plant, a wind park can be built in just 15 to 18 months, he explained, adding that Turkey, with its vast coastal regions, has the most suitable weather conditions. “We, as Siemens, can contribute to that with the newest technology. Our know-how is what we are renowned for,” he pointed out. Indeed, in the rapidly growing global wind power market, Siemens’ energy division not only builds off and onshore wind farms, it also ensures that they are efficiently linked to power grids.

D-8 Secretary General Dr. Dipo Alam, on a separate occasion also highlighted the organization’s keen interest to focus and develop the Turkish wind energy potentials. Meeting with Turkish Energy Minister, Hilmi Güler, on the 3rd Turkish-Arab Economic Forum earlier this week, Alam said that D-8 Organization will be putting up all its best effort and join forces with the Turkish Energy Ministry to support the development of wind energy. “D-8 cooperation in energy sector, especially in renewable energy, is very essential due to the uprising threat of skyrocketing oil price,” said Alam in his office, after the meeting.

D-8 Organization has the D-8 Working Group on Energy that focus its work on renewable energy, suggest long term strategies, including sustainability of supply and prepare a RoadMap of cooperation for the next 10 years. The working group also prepares strategic studies and the continuous monitoring and analysis of the high oil prices both in short, medium and long-term.

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