Turkish wind could be Trump tariffs winner, claims industry chief
Turkey could provide alternatives to Chinese wind power components and attract more European wind industry investments, Ibrahim Erden tells Recharge
“We expect a positive impact for Turkey, because the United States – based on the IRA [former President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act] – had been attracting significant investment volumes, both for onshore and offshore, in the past five years,” TWEA chairman Ibrahim Erden said in an interview.
“We have seen that the election of Donald Trump and his taking office – especially after the announcement of the tariffs – created significant uncertainties for the sustainability of the wind business in the United States.”
Suppliers to the US of raw materials and components “are worried about supplying to the United States because they don't know at what price they will be delivering” or what kind of customs duty or regulation they will face at the time of delivery, he explained.
“We hear from the industry that it has already disrupted the continuity of the business in the United States, not only for the industry, but also for investments.”
As investors cannot simply stop already planned investments, “they are looking for alternatives for sourcing and investment opportunities,” Erden said.
“For most of the OEMs, it is a risk if you continue sourcing from China, and in six months, you may be facing an extra customs duty”, or other additional measures, Erden said.
Companies exporting to the US from China may also face months-long waiting times at customs, while required paperwork may not be approved in time, he added.
“Manufacturers can start replacing certain critical components, which have been sourced from China. We can replace them.”
Another factor possibly benefiting Turkey could be that European investors, who so far have bet on the US market, could channel part of their spending to Turkey instead.
“The United States was one of the largest markets behind China. We observe European investors and developers journeying towards other larger markets, and Turkey is one of the top 10 wind markets in onshore.”
Turkey last year, according to WindEurope, added 1.3GW in new onshore wind, bringing its cumulative capacity for wind on land to 13.8GW – more than Italy’s and slightly less than that of the UK. Enercon, Nordex, Siemens Gamesa and GE’s LM Wind Power all have onshore wind production facilities in Turkey.
The country will hopefully also become one of the significant offshore wind markets in the future, Erden said, as the Turkish government is currently revisiting plans for an initial 3GW tender for wind at sea.
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