Wind Energy in Turkey: Potential and Development

Abstract

Accordingto the scenarios, despite the relatively low share of fossil fuels in theperiod until 2040, these fuels will continue to be dominant sources. It isestimated that the share of nuclear energy in primary energy sources willincrease and the share of renewable energy sources will be 16.1 percent in2040. According to the current policies scenario, global electricity demand isexpected to increase by an average of 2.3 percent each year and increase by 80percent from its present value by 2040. In order to meet this increase theshare of renewable energy sources like solar, wind, geothermal, etc. in energyproduction needs to be increased. Turkey's wind energy potential is estimatedto be 48 GW, i.e. 120 billion kWh. The number of power plants that generateelectricity based on wind energy is increasing every year, and according to thecurrent data, there are 155 licensed power plant with the value of  6437.9 MW and 39 unlicensed wind power plantwith the value of  28.48 MW. In thisstudy, development and potential of wind energy in Turkey has been examinedwith the latest data.