WITH THE INCREASE of the world’s population, energy needs are increasing every day. In contrast, fossil fuel reserves are rapidly depleting. Moreover, global climate change due to fossil fuel use is driving countries to energy sources such as solar, wind, geothermal, hydraulic and biomass, which are not dependent on renewables and raw materials. Many countries in the world are now making new energy production investments focused on Yesil energy. Turkey’s motto on this sense is: ‘more domestic, more renewable.’ Turkey repeated this motto with its efforts to eliminate problems in energy. We drew attention to the energy policies on our agenda such as the increasing energy need due to rapid population growth, dependence on energy to the outside, energy saving, energy management and planning, legal regulations and especially the lack of adequate supervision and control mechanisms. Looking back, the first major move of strategic importance in Turkey’s energy planning took place in 1935. This was followed by the establishment of MENR (Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources) in 1963. The Energy Efficiency Law, which came into force in 2007, initiated a new transformation process. Energy efficiency targets for 2023 were created with the energy efficiency strategy document published in 2012 and the National Energy Efficiency Action Plan was prepared and implemented effectively. Today, under the National Energy Efficiency Action Plan, 55 actions, defined in six categories: building and services, energy, transport, industry and technology, agriculture and landscape, are focused on reducing Turkey’s primary energy consumption by 14 percent by 2023.

This strategy needs to focus on the concept of sustainability. Sustainability means, in short, “preserving the ability to produce in the near future.” The basic input for social and economic development in Turkey and countries all over the world which is in need of more and more energy, and a wider understanding of the fact that energy resources in the world are limited and show everdecreasing momentum leads countries to reconsider their energy policies and use energy effectively. In describing the process of Turkey’s energy policies, it is impossible to forget the people who were once referred to as speculators and remember Kemal Sunal’s “Stubborn” movie. Kemal Sunal brought up one of the most trending topics of those days in the movie, bringing together Mukhtar and dignitaries in the village square and giving them a speech to buy cheap plot. Indeed, This strategy needs to focus on the concept of sustainability. Sustainability means, in short, “preserving the ability to produce in the near future.” The basic input for social and economic development in Turkey and countries all over the world which is in need of more and more energy, and a wider understanding of the fact that energy resources in the world are limited and show everdecreasing momentum leads countries to reconsider their energy policies and use energy effectively. In describing the process of Turkey’s energy policies, it is impossible to forget the people who were once referred to as speculators and remember Kemal Sunal’s “Stubborn” movie. Kemal Sunal brought up one of the most trending topics of those days in the movie, bringing together Mukhtar and dignitaries in the village square and giving them a speech to buy cheap plot. Indeed, the country’s economy. The projects, which are tried to be realized by many social purposes and especially by the municipalities, could not be realized due to the closure of the capacities in the substations. In short, the unlicensed electricity had already been out of joint. In this process, the energy sector has taken the lead in two things: the emergence of domestic capital investors in SPP and equipments to be produced in Turkey.....

NOW LET’S HAVE A LOOK THE SITUATION TODAY...
Turkey has significant resources in terms of wind, geothermal and solar energy. The development of these resources is vital both to combat climate change and to overcome the dependence on imported and fossil fuels in energy. The government’s economic programme also highlights investments in efficiency and decentralisation technologies in the energy industry. While energy input costs are reduced under the Energy Efficiency National Action Plan, the Turkish Asset Fund plans to take part in fixed capital investments based on private sector cooperation in petrochemicals, mining and domestic energy generation. The aim is to increase the share of solar, wind, biomass, renewable energy and domestic coal resources in electricity generation, while the REZ (Renewable Energy Zones) model will support the indigenisation of these energy technologies. The government’s goal is to increase the share of renewable energy sources in electricity generation to 38.8 percent by 2023. How is this possible? Turkey, which has great potential in terms of renewable energy resources particularly wind and solar, continues to attract foreign and domestic investorse especially since 2010 with the enactment of related legislation to regulate incentives for renewable energy. In 2019 alone, the installed power of the Turkish energy sector increased by 2,700 MW. Taking into account the distribution of 2,700 MW investment according to power plant technologies and costs; thermal 986 MW/1.2 billion dollars, solar 831 MW/660 million dollars, wind 550 MW/440 million dollars, geothermal 232 MW/350 million dollars in total investment cost around 3.2 billion dollars. When current licenses and facilities under construction are included, it is expected to reach 93 thousand MW with an increase of about 2 percent in installed power in 2020. It is estimated that there will be an increase of 1500-2000 MW in installed power for the next year and 80 percent of this will be realized through renewable resources which means a very high proportion. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) “Renewable Energy 2019 (Renewables 2019)” Report, global renewable energy capacity will increase by 50 percent over the period 2019-2024 to 3,721 gigawatts.

Since the introduction of various regulations in 2010, Turkey manages to attract local and foreign investors to the renewable energy.

During that period, the world renewable energy board will add 200 gigawatts of capacity to its power. China will come first in the world in 2024 with 219 gigawatts of installed renewable energy capacity, while China will be followed by the United States with 411 gigawatts of clean energy capacity. The US will be followed by India with 235 gigawatts of capacity, Germany with 166 gigawatts, Brazil with 156 gigawatts, Japan with 153 gigawatts. Canada 107, Spain 81, France 80 and Italy 68 gigawatts will be among the top 10 countries with the highest renewable energy installed power.

Turkey is expected to reach 63 gigawatts of clean energy capacity by 2024. Turkey’s current renewable energy installed power of 42 gigawatts will increase by 50 percent in 2024. With this increase, Turkey will be among the top 5 countries with the most renewable energy installed power in Europe, with Germany, Spain, France and Italy. Turkey will rise to 11th place in the world rankings. Turkey’s installed solar power, which stands at 5.1 gigawatts by the end of 2018, will double to 15.1 gigawatts by 2024. Of the additional 10 gigawatts of solar capacity increase, 3.7 gigawatts will be provided from distributed energy systems. Wind power capacity will also increase by 84 per cent by 2018 and reach 12.9 gigawatts in 2024. During this period, 5.9 gigawatts
of additional capacity in wind power will be activated. Over the same period, hydroelectric power capacity will grow to 31 gigawatts, with 11 percent growth by 2018. Turkey’s installed power in biomass will increase by 900 megawatts to 1.5 gigawatts, while its installed power in geothermal energy will increase by 800 megawatts to 2.1 gigawatts. In short, according to the report, approximately 21 gigawatts of clean energy capacity will be transferred in Turkey in 2019-2024. 

GREAT TARGETS IN INVESTMENTS In the study of Ernst & Young, it was pointed out that renewable energy projects without incentives are becoming more widespread, and this causes “trader risk” for investors. It was also underlined that the power of projects based on corporate bilateral purchase agreements instead of government incentives increased from 6.1 GW in 2017 to 13.4 GW in 2018. However, as in the world, there is a big appetite for renewable energy in Turkey. Alvero Ortiz, chief Turkey economist at BBVA Research, one of those who thinks so, says renewable energy prices in Turkey will continue to fall. Ortiz expressed that there is an investor-friendly market in Turkey, but the investor wants predictability, so when creating mechanisms related to renewable energy sources, it is necessary to make sure that this is sustainable. Pedro Almeida, Global Business Development Director of wind energy company EDPR, which has investments in Turkey, says that before investing in a country, they first look at the source and then at the stability of the region and its currency. Almeida continues his speech as follows: It is also important to have a strong energy policy. People do not go to places where the wind blows most. Efforts to enlarge and transfer the network are also important. Penetration for renewables is also important. We don’t like policy changes. We want to stay in the country for a long time and serve new generations. We expect stability in support mechanisms.” Kayril Karabeyoglu, general manager of Akfen Renewable Energy, says Turkey is the country with the second largest potential in hydroelectricity in Europe and that 60-65 percent of this economic potential is currently being used, adding: “There is a huge potential in wind and solar. The current installed strength in the wind represents only 15-20 percent of the economic potential. Turkey has reached about 8000 MW in the wind and 6000 MW in the sun, but we think there is a long way to go.” Kayril points out that a total of 80-100 thousand MW can be reached in wind and sun and that it is necessary to eliminate uncertainties in terms of legal and regulations in order to benefit from this potential, and he continues: “uniform mechanisms, transparency in market prices, continuity in laws and regulations are essential. If these are provided, the interest of domestic and foreign investors and financing institutions can be re-drawn to the sector.” GCM Investment economist Enver Erkan says energy is one of the riskiest sectors in BIST in terms of the net foreign exchange deficit. Considering the ratio of shortterm debt of energy companies to assets, Erkan noted that the level of indebtedness is high ans says “the increase in foreign exchange indebtedness and interest rates increases non-operating financial expenses and suppresses profitability”. Mehmet Ertürk, Chairman of the Association of energy experts, says that the steps taken in the energy field especially in the last 15 years are important and says “Although we are not very lucky in terms of hydrocarbon resources, if we can properly evaluate our renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, we can cement our identity as an effective energy actor in this difficult geography”. 

DOMESTIC EQUIPMENT AND STORAGE  

On the one hand, while energy investments continue, the need for investment arises in the fields of domestic energy equipment production and storage. Turkey imported fuel at an average level of 40-44 billion dollars in the last 10 years. Renewable energy investments in Turkey was a great way to reduce these costs. However, it is also noteworthy to import equipment of 7-8 billion dollars for wind investments of 7000 MW and solar energy of 6000 MW.

BBVA Researh Turkey Chief Economist Alvero Ortiz states that the prices of renewable energy will keep falling in Turkey.

in this respect, domestic equipment manufactıring is very important for Turkey. The EBRD’s Acting President in Turkey, Şule Kılıç, says Turkey should now have a separate supplier development strategy by turning more towards the energy equipment and technology supply side. Kılıç said that the domestic contribution is given in case the equipment is bought from a local manufacturer in Turkey, adding that it is more beneficial for global equipment manufacturers to be invited to invest in Turkey and to provide some investment incentives. Kılıç underlines that investments in energy security are critical for Turkey as well as efficiency and that they care about floating liquefied gas storage and gasification unit (FSRU) projects. She continues her words that “Private sector players planning to build, lease or purchase FSRU and invest in natural gas storage facilities may resort to new financing methods. FSRU projects reduce dependence on pipe gas imports by ensuring a diversity of resources in natural gas. There are a number of gas storage projects that the private sector is working on. The establishment of the right structures here will contribute to energy security by increasing both gas storage and FSRU projects. FSRU investments can be a very good alternative so that Turkey does not adhere to long-term contracts and can use gas at more competitive prices.”

GREEN ENERGY AND CORONAVIRUS EFFECTS The main component that will affect the green energy issue recently is the Coronavirus. The epidemic has affected all sectors, as well as posed serious threats to renewable energy. The epidemic is known to cause serious disruptions in turbine component production and turbine maintenance in the wind energy sector. The Coronavirus epidemic, which also affects the production of electricity generated from wind energy in the world and in our country, threatens the production and maintenance of wind turbines. While 2020 is expected to be a positive contribution to the sector ahead of the epidemic, it is expected to have a significant impact on global investment and production output on behalf of wind energy. It is pointed out that many turbine manufacturers are not able to supply the necessary equipment from China, the country where the epidemic was first seen, and the employee power in maintenance and repairs cannot be actively used due to the epidemic and measures taken. Drawing a rising graphic in the name of clean energy in the world and in our country, wind energy can move downwards due to the threats of the epidemic and the negative effects it creates. The fact that the factories that provide the necessary productions for wind turbines in Spain and Italy stop working due to the presence of epidemics in their employees and many manufacturers have difficulties in purchasing equipment from China, seriously affects the wind energy industry. After the epidemic of the Coronavirus, which caused thousands of deaths and made people to close themselves in their own homes with panic and anxiety, which affected the whole world negatively, many factories in the world stopped production, vehicle usage decreased, flights almost stopped. Consequently, the consumption of fossil fuels has also decreased, so the air, especially in areas where industry and population are dense, is cleaner than ever. Even in a city such as New Delhi, the capital of India, which is one of the dirtiest cities in the world, the air quality index is now below 50. Of course, it would not be correct to make a generalization for the whole world just by looking at the change in a country. There is a similar improvement in air quality in the US and other parts of the world. In China, which is the most developed country in the world in terms of industry, there are reports that air pollution has decreased significantly after the quarantine launched due to the epidemic. An atmosphere researcher at the University of Colorado of the USA recorded the satellite image of the west side of the USA after the outbreak began, and compared this image with the images before the epidemic. Eventually the epidemic will end and the world will return to its usual order, but this picture is not a dream. For this, the whole world needs to take the necessary steps to quickly switch to electric vehicles. Factories should start using renewable energy instead of fossil fuels to improve air quality worldwide. Otherwise, global climate change may lead to greater disasters than this epidemic in the coming years.