Türkiye can be the supply base of offshore wind

The offshore wind farm technology and investments in this industry is showing a rapid growth globally. Especially the potential of floating wind farms is expected have major impact within the upcoming decades. While traditional offshore turbines with pile foundations can only be installed at 70 meters depth maximum, turbines with floating foundation can operate at up to 1.000 meters depths. This will allow much larger areas to be evaluated and utilised for its wind potential.

In contrast of enabling more waters to be utilised for wind energy, there’s also the downside of transmitting generated electricity from turbines installed kilometres away to shore. As the nature of wind results in irregular energy generation; with the added issue of long-distance transmission of electricity can create stress on the grid and cause several technical problems. 

In order to eliminate this problem, new a concept has been developed in the form of Energy Islands. 

The system created at these artificial islands first gathers the generated electricity at a central hub and later transmits it into main grid in a more regular manner using switch systems.

The next step is to harvest green hydrogen and ammonia from the electricity generated and supply the market with these products via ports established on the islands. First venture in this sense has been approved by government of Denmark and the first energy island is currently planned to be established in the North Sea. 

There is a rapid growing trend of diversification of green energy in the world as well as Türkiye. Global data shows that offshore wind energy industry is growing much faster, compared to traditional inland wind energy industry. 

Geographically speaking, Türkiye is located in close distance to areas with high offshore wind energy potential. This can allow Türkiye to become a hub inside supply chain, including for offshore constructions and countries planning to install offshore wind farms can supply all equipment from Türkiye. 

Taking into account an estimate of 3 million € for an investment of 1 MW; total investments and supply chain for Türkiye and neighbouring countries would worth trillion dollars and we must take certain steps in various fields in order to get a slice of that cake. 

Our country has made great progress in the installation, production and supply of inland wind turbines. This experience and potential, combined with our maritime industry can make Türkiye a supply base in the region. 

Offshore wind energy is an untapped area of Türkiye but has great potential. New approaches to renewable energy are developed around the world within the framework of business models and energy needs. The goal is not to just generate energy from wind; but also produce hydrogen and ammonia. These power plants can be actively used for the production of green hydrogen and ammonia in Türkiye.

According to World Bank data, 20 GW of offshore wind potential, over total potential of 70 GW, is located in Aegean and Marmara regions.

As offshore projects start from 500 MW as minimum. these projects can only be made possible via consortium structures with governments involvement.

Greece has set a target of 2 GW in offshore wind farm installation in the Aegean Sea. As a country, we need to declare a similar target so that it will attract the attention of domestic and foreign investors; creating an efficient investment environment and supply chain structures.

OWPP 2030 capacity projection of surrounding countries

According to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), 5% of global electricity generation was from offshore wind plants last year. Global offshore wind power capacity reached 48 GW at the end of last year. According to the council, offshore wind power capacity will exceed 20 gigawatts per year growth rate by 2025. In the same period, the share of offshore wind energy in total installed electricity power shall increase to 20 percent.

DRES 2030 capacity projection of countries

Taking into account the potential in not only our country but also the surrounding countries; our country should evaluate its potential to become the region’s leading country in shipping, ports, shipyards, marine construction and equipment supply manufacturing. Türkiye should at least declare its offshore energy target immediately to allow investors, potential local contractors and suppliers to make estimations about the offshore WPP.

Ukraine and Russia ironically have a lot of potential for offshore WPP in the Black Sea. The potential here can be utilised in green hydrogen/ammonia production. Perhaps these resources will become more valuable than oil production in the near future. The trends in the world are in this direction as well; thanks to OWPP-based hydrogen/ammonia production, the dependency on oil and natural gas is expected to decrease gradually.

To summarise, Türkiye is located in a geography close to the offshore fields with hundreds of GW potential in offshore wind energy in the Caspian Sea, the Red Sea and the Black Sea. This will create several trillion dollars of market and supply chain potential. Our country is in a geographically advantageous position to be one of the few offshore supply centers established in the world. Türkiye can become a hub in the supply chain, including offshore construction. Countries that want to build an offshore wind farm can supply all their equipment from Türkiye. Attempts should be made by government, private sector and non-governmental organizations to take the initiative and pave the way for this field as soon as possible.

Offshore Wind Energy Association (DURED) was established for the purpose of making and developing offshore wind farm investments in Türkiye, bringing the maritime and energy sectors together and coordinating collaborations. DURED ensures the activation and development of civil activities related to offshore wind energy, supports individuals and organizations working on this issue and raises awareness by actively using public institutions and universities in association activities. As a result of our active work in this context, our association has been entitled to benefit from EU funds for DRES technology development. The main goals of our association are to reveal the current potential of our country in the field of offshore wind energy resources, to ensure the development of offshore wind energy use and its industry and to contribute to its development and to the creation of legislation.energy use and industry, to contribute to its development and to the creation of legislation.