World Bank says offshore wind can help make Turkey ‘clean power hub’

Offshore wind can help Turkey become a regional clean energy hub, says the World Bank in a report setting out how the country can get up to 7GW of capacity in the water by 2040.

Turkey’s waters could potentially support up to 75GW of offshore wind capacity, mostly suited to floating foundations, said the World Bank in its new offshore wind roadmap for the country.

“A resilient, net-zero pathway powered by offshore wind can help Turkey meet its development and climate goals while strengthening energy security,” said Yasemin Orucu, project lead at the World Bank.

“The roadmap highlights the opportunities for Turkey’s green transition to attract long-term investment, generate thousands of jobs and upskill the workforce in a future-focused industry.”

Turkey’s growth over the recent decades has meant the country has not been able to meet its energy demand through domestic sources alone, and it currently relies on imports to meet around 70% of its energy demand, said the World Bank.

It therefore needs to expand local energy generation to reduce its reliance on imports and the associated foreign exchange burden on its economy.

The report sets out two hypothetical development paths for offshore wind in Turkey.

In the low growth scenario, 3.5GW of offshore wind is installed by the end of 2040, contributing $4bn to the country’s economy. The low growth scenario could be achieved with “moderate action” by the government, focusing on the “first few small-scale projects.”

The high growth scenario assumes 7GW of offshore wind power is installed by the end of 2040, adding $16bn gross value to the economy.

Turkey’s waters do have “significant environmental and social sensitivities,” it said, requiring offshore wind projects to carefully plan and mitigate impacts on protected areas, biodiversity, critical habitats and local communities.

As things stand, Turkey has set a target of hitting 5GW of offshore wind capacity by 2035, but the World Bank said that it should set its vision beyond this as part of long-term energy system planning.

Turkey should also implement regulatory and policy frameworks which proactively de-risk projects, upgrade grid and port infrastructure and development of domestic supply chains among other actions, said the World Bank.

Offshore wind can help Turkey achieve its goal of becoming an energy hub by diversifying its power mix and providing new collaboration opportunities with neighbouring countries, including the ability to export clean power.

Challenges facing Turkish offshore wind include the “ample capacity” it still has to build out solar and onshore wind; low to moderate wind speeds offshore; and all suitable fixed-bottom sites being located in restricted areas.

The report noted that Turkey has the world’s 12th largest onshore wind capacity and a “very capable” onshore wind supply chain.