Sabah – As a growing energy market with no shortage of sunlight throughout the year, Türkiye will put a section of its solar potential to tender next month, beginning with Elazig and Erzurum provinces in Eastern Anatolia.
The countdown for the tender, which will reward the highest paying investors with solar power generation licenses, is expected to result in EUR 1.2 worth of investments. Going over the applications made by prospective investors, Türkiye’s Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA) will launch the tender for the two provinces in May.
Aiming to build a capacity of 600 megawatts utilizing solar power, the strong investor interest in Türkiye’s solar potential necessitates a tender process to grant investors a license to build and operate photovoltaic power plants in certain locations. Having completed site surveys and feasilibility studies in designated areas, nearly 500 companies have applied for solar energy generation licenses of up to 7.8 gigawatts since last year, reaching a total project value of EUR 15 billion. The selected 258 projects are vying for the 600 megawatt solar generation tender expected to be awarded to winning bidders by the end of the year.
Türkiye’s advantageous geographical position exposes large portions of the country’s territory to sunlight during most of the year. With 2,640 hours of insolation per year and 380 terawatt hours of output potential, the country is the most promising country in Europe in terms of solar energy potential.
Türkiye’s Renewable Energy Law, in effect since the beginning of 2011, especially favors investors with projects that use solar panels and other related equipment that is locally produced. The country aims to have at least 3 gigawatts of installed power made up of solar energy by 2023.