BERLIN: A partnership between Turkish Borusan Holding and German firm EnBW celebrated the opening of two new wind energy power plants in Turkey at a launch ceremony in İstanbul attended by Energy Minister Taner Yıldız.
Power plants in the provinces of Mersin and Çanakkale each with a capacity of 53 megawatts began operations, while additions to an existing wind power plant in the province of Balıkesir increased the plant’s capacity by 30 megawatts, bringing the total wind energy capacity of the Borusan-EnBW partnership to 246 megawatts. Borusan officials emphasized the importance of wind and other renewable energy sources as a means of increasing environmentally friendly energy use and decreasing dependency on foreign energy. Turkey primarily relies upon imports from energy-rich neighbors to meet demands.
“The main mission of Borusan EnBW energy is to benefit the economy via sustainable development-contributing renewable energy plants,” said Borusan Holding CEO Agah Uğur, adding that the company’s goal is to reach a 2000-megawatt capacity with its energy portfolio of wind and other renewable sources by 2020, and that $4 billion will be invested in order to meet the mark. “It is our ambition to become one of the key energy players in this promising market. Our partnership has existed now for more than five years. We are honored and grateful to have a partner like Borusan here in Turkey and we are proud of what we have already achieved together,” said EnBW Chief Technical Officer Hans-Josef Zimmer.
“Turkey faced tremendous economic growth in the past 10 years. As an investor, we believe and hope that the short-term economic irritations will not change the fundamental strengths of the economy. Energy investments are long-term strategic investments. We are confident and a firm believer that Turkey will continue its successful economic growth in the future,” Zimmer continued. Energy Minister Yıldız said Turkey had taken great steps in increasing renewable energy sources, saying that recent growth in renewable energy in Turkey has doubled that of European Union member states.
