Turkey plans 2GW licensing round in 2016

TURKEY: Turkish energy market regulator EMRA announced plans for a 2GW licensing round for wind projects next year, as the government follows through with a pledge to begin a regular rollout of new projects after this year's 3GW round.

by Heather O’Brian 13 August 2015

Turkey held a 3GW licensing round in April

The regulator said preliminary applications must be submitted between 3 and 6 October 2016.

Project developers submitted more than 42GW of wind projects by an end-of-Aprill deadline for this year's 3GW licensing round.

Those projects are now being vetted to ensure they meet basic requirements, with market participants expecting grid capacity auctions for projects that make this initial cut by the second quarter of next year.

Turkey had installed wind capacity of just over 4GW at the end of July, according to data from transmission system operator Teias.

The regular rollout of new capacity is seen as one condition for attracting more foreign investors to the market and allowing Turkey to meet its ambitious target of 20GW of wind capacity by 2023.

Turkish wind investment has been dominated by local conglomerates, although a growing number of foreign investors are targeting the country.