Turkey plans first offshore wind farm tenders in 2026

Turkey expects to issue its first offshore wind farm tenders by the end of 2026 after installing 2 gigawatts (GW) of new wind energy installations last year.

“We can expect to see the first offshore wind turbines in 2030-2031, as the energy ministry has been working intensively for several years,” Ibrahim Erden, president of the Turkish Wind Energy Association (Tureb), told the state-run Anadolu news agency.

Tureb is working with local and international stakeholders to develop potential offshore wind farm sites and tender mechanisms, as well as secure financing for the project, he said.

Anakra offered 2,350 megawatts (MW) of projects to investors through two tenders last year, Erden said, expecting installation of 1,000MW to 1,500MW of capacity each year. 

Foreign investor interest is gradually increasing, he said, adding that global investors should be allowed to invest in other areas besides renewable energy resources.

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In 2016, the Turkish government introduced the ‘Yeka’ strategy, a tender process to identify high-potential, specialised zones for solar and wind projects, then auction them through competitive, long-term (15-20 year) power purchase agreements.

In September, energy minister Alparslan Bayraktar said Turkey planned to receive bids for new renewable energy projects with a combined capacity of 2GW by the end of the year.

Ankara has already begun discussions with Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power about projects that would generate 5GW of solar power.