20 Dec 2019 İzmir, The Capital of Wind Energy
Conducting the 20% of the wind energy generation in Türkiye, İzmir hosted a meeting to discuss the future of the wind sector with the participation of the Deputy Ministers of Industry and Technology, Dr. Çetin Ali Dönmez and Mehmet Fatih Kacır. “The Wind of İzmir, Wind Energy Sector Meeting” gathered the top representatives of the sector to focus on the future of the sector and to evaluate investment plans.
The wind energy capital of Türkiye, İzmir is one of the top centers in Europe for energy generation and equipment manufacture. To highlight the significance of our province, İzmir Development Agency Organized The Wind of İzmir: Wind Energy Sector Meeting at Swissotel Grand Efes on June 20, 2019 with the participation of the Deputy Ministers of Industry and Technology, Dr. Çetin Ali Dönmez and Mehmet Fatih Kacır as well as top representatives of the sector.
Our Secretary General Dr. Mehmet Yavuz, gave the opening speech of the event, emphasizing on İZKA’s efforts in the field, “Working with the vision to become a pioneering Agency in sustainable development, İZKA has conducted 18 Financial Support Programs, 7 Guided Projects and 3 Feasibility Support Programs, providing 530 Million TL to 647 projects in current numbers. The resource we have activated fort the sustainable development of İzmir has reached up to 91 Million TL.”
Emphasizing on İzmir’s resource potential in the renewable energy sector, Dr. Yavuz touched on the efforts of the Agency to help develop the field, “Our Agency is one of the first institutions to provide financial support in the field of Renewable Energy in Türkiye in 2012. We also conducted the Renewable Energy and Environmental Technologies Financial Support Program in 2015. İZKA continues to work on transforming İzmir into a hub in equipment production, attracting foreign investors and to establish sectoral clustering.”
Dr. Yavuz concluded his speech stating “I would also like to announce with great pleasure that our Agency will conduct a 3 Million Euro EU project, called Best for Energy” within the Competitive Sectors Program implemented by our Ministry of Industry and Technology to support the sector.
Also speaking at the event, The Turkish Wind Energy Association (TÜREB) President Hakan Yıldırım noted “We have completed the first phase of wind energy in Türkiye by completing the installation od 7.400 MegaWatts of installed power by the end of 2018. We have figured out the investment, technology supply, consultancy and finance processes through achieving this. We now aim for the second phase to be more sustainable and for the sector to grow even further. The installed power in Türkiye ranks 5th in Europe and 50% of the plants are located in the Aegean Region, while 43 of 180 plants are in İzmir which reveals the power and the potential of İzmir in this area.
The Deputy Governor of İzmir Nihat Kaynar empathized on the importance of the activities in the field of wind energy in İzmir noting, “Hosting the first wind power plant in Türkiye in 1998, the installed power in the city has reached up to 1.400 MegaWatts and we predict this number to reach 1.500 in the upcoming years.”
Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır highlighted their focus on developing domestic production in his speech and added, “Additional financial incentives for domestic wind power plants are of high importance. I believe that developing the technology and R&D efforts in Türkiye with the support of the Ministry will provide a sustainable benefit.”
Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology In his speech, Dr. Çetin Ali Dönmez said that Türkiye has a considerable amount of qualified manpower; however, he emphasized that the communication of the sector stakeholders with each other should be at the highest level and touched on the key role of Development Agencies
Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology Dr. Çetin Ali Dönmez emphasized on the significant role Development Agencies play and also added, “Financing is crucial to increase the export volume of our country, to ensure the proper functioning of the supply chain and to establish high capacity industry. Our country keeps improving in this field.”
Leading companies choose İzmir for Investment
The first session of the meeting titled “İzmir as the Home of World Leader Wind Energy Equipment Manufacturers” featured CSWIND TR Managing Director Youngjae RYU, Enercon Managing Director Arif GÜNYAR and TPI Composites Vice President EMEA and India Gökhan SERDAR as the moderator. The session focused on the advantages of investing in İzmir as a global company and the lucrative investment climate of the city.
Domestic companies are the driving force in the value chain of the sector
The second session of the event titled “Local Suppliers in Value Chain of Wind Energy Equipment Manufacturing” discussed the growth potential and the necessities to increase the competitiveness of the sector. Moderated by our Investment Support Office Coordinator H.İ. Murat ÇELİK, the session featured Ateş Wind Power Executive Board Member Mahmut GÜLDOĞAN, Tibet Makina General Manager Tibet ALBAYRAK and XGEN Energy Managing Partner İskender KÖKEY.