Türkiye has the capacity to install 27 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy by 2050, according to a senior expert at the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
Sean Whittaker, principal renewable energy specialist with the IFC, the private sector financing arm of the World Bank Group, explained to Anadolu that the ‘Offshore Wind Energy Roadmap for Türkiye’ outlines two scenarios.
The first scenario is a high-growth route, aiming for 27 GW of offshore wind energy in the next 26 years.
Second, there is a low growth scenario whereby the country would produce 16 gigawatts of offshore wind projects by 2050, Whittaker said.
‘The purpose of the roadmap is to inform government decision-making,’ he noted.
Whittaker, co-founder and co-lead of the World Bank’s Offshore Wind Development Program, said that the programs eighth roadmap, focusing on Türkiye, was released globally on Thursday, following similar reports on Vietnam, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Brazil, Romania, and Azerbaijan.
Noting that IFC finances the private sector, Whittaker said, ‘We would very much like to finance offshore wind.’
‘There is currently no offshore wind in any emerging market other than China,’ he said and added, ‘So we set up the program essentially to help countries accelerate the time it takes for them to have bankable projects.’
Whittaker emphasized that their program has already worked with 24 countries.
– Both paths hold different opportunities and challenges
He explained that the roadmap outlines two potential paths for Türkiye’s offshore wind development, each with its own opportunities, challenges, financing needs and implications for generation costs and supply chain development.
Noting that the roadmap shows that Türkiye has conditions that are favorable for offshore wind, Whittaker said there are several motivations for why the country should pursue offshore wind projects.
One incentive is that offshore wind offers large-scale energy generation or decarbonization.
Türkiye imports a large portion of its energy needs and seeks to become energy independent. The country wants to achieve its goal in a clean way with renewables.
Whittaker noted that there are limited options for large-scale renewable energy, adding that ‘offshore wind is an excellent choice.’
He also mentioned that ‘Türkiye has a really remarkably robust onshore wind supply chain.’
‘Moving to offshore wind will allow Türkiye to develop its supply chain. And that brings jobs and direct investment,’ Whittaker said.
– ‘Türkiye is 12th largest onshore wind market in world’
Whittaker also mentioned the potential of exporting and working in the field of floating wind energy projects.
‘Türkiye will potentially develop some floating wind farms and will be in a good position to export its expertise in this field as the floating wind industry grows,’ he said.
Pointing out that Türkiye is the 12th largest onshore wind market in the world, he said, ‘the country makes blades, towers, nacelles and castings. It’s got a really good industry and it’s very competitive.’
‘A lot of the components that Türkiye manufactures are for export. So it stands to reason that it would have that same competitive advantage in offshore wind,’ Whittaker said.
