Abstract:

Turkey is a foreign dependent country in terms of non-renewable fossil fuels, but in terms of the renewable energy sources; it has a great potential to meet all its needs. Turkey's increasing energy demand because of foreign dependent fossil fuels is making country's economic conditions harsher and harsher. However, Turkey is becoming a center of attraction in the renewable energy sector. In fact, Turkey is the country which has Europe's highest solar energy potential. For example, Turkey's wind energy potential is estimated to be 48000 MW.  The total  potential  is  estimated  to  be 38000 MW on land and 10000 on the sea. Turkey, is also a rich country in terms of wind energy. A total of 4000 MW of capacity utilization was achieved in the wind power by the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources in 2017 by the Renewable Energy Resource areas tender. According to the data of the Energy Market Regulatory Authority, Turkey's installed capacity of wind power is around 6621 MW.  The wind power sector, which started to develop rapidly after the Law of Renewable Energy’s coming into force in 2005, has grown by an average of  25-30 percent each year for the last five years. Turkey is also one of the world's richest countries in terms of geothermal energy sources. The introduction of rich geothermal energy resources in Western Anatolia will make significant contributions to the national economy. The diversification and growth of renewable energy sources will contribute significantly to the national economy as well as the positive environmental impacts (greenhouse effect).

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