Renewable Law to transform Turkey into base for energy

Responding to questions from Today's Zaman, Aksoy said the views and opinions of civil society organizations as well as the Turkish business world were taken into account while preparing the draft of the YEK law. Aksoy also touched upon the prominent position enjoyed by Turkey on the agendas of investors in the energy sector, noting that "energy companies are waiting for this new law in order to move ahead with their investment in Turkey, a place with many advantages for them. The law, passed in 2005, was limited in terms of its ability to fulfill demand. But we listened to the views of everyone concerned and worked hard to produce a draft that is quite revolutionary in character."

Aksoy also noted that he had relayed information about the YEK law draft to the heads of nearly 80 energy sector companies at a meeting in Germany, saying: "Due to global climate change, renewable energy arenas -- most notably wind and solar -- are on the entire world's agenda these days. The two largest companies in Germany and Spain are very interested in investing in Turkey. I explained the details brought about by changes in the YEK law to the company representatives while at the meeting in Germany. As far as I can tell, when this draft becomes law, it will transform Turkey into a base for investment in renewable energy. Both investors and Turkey will be winners here. Very important steps will be taken in terms of solving environmental, economic and social problems. This is also partially because new employment arenas will be opened up to hundreds of thousands of people through this."

Aksoy noted that the most important innovation brought about by the new YEK proposal is that the areas of investment in energy have been identified one by one rather than being lumped together, as was the case in the past. He explained: "It used to be that all the different renewable energy sources were referred to as one. But we have now divided these into different sections, under the headings of ‘wind,' ‘solar,' ‘wave,' ‘geothermal' and ‘biomass.' Not only this, but there are subcategories such as 'sea wind' or 'intensified solar energy.' This was necessary because each of these areas has different recycling and feasibility features. We also made these categories different in terms of when they could benefit from state stimulus help, too."

Aksoy also pointed to another important advantage brought about by the YEK draft, noting that it would move into legislation at the same time as the latest stimulus package. "The new stimulus package, announced by the prime minister last week, and the Renewable Energy Law both complement one another. Investors are thus being encouraged both in the production of energy as well as on the subject of equipment and materials. This is a great opportunity for international energy companies searching for new arenas of investment," he said.

Aksoy noted that Turkey currently obtains more than half of all its electrical energy needs from natural gas plants and that with investment in renewable energy arenas, the variety of supply options would be secured. The New Energy Strategy Document states the goal is to have five different sources supply the 100,000 megawatts of electrical energy Turkey is predicted to need by 2023, Aksoy said, adding that the "goal is 20,000 megawatts for renewable energy sources in Turkey. So by assuring ourselves of variety in energy production, we will reduce to a minimum our dependence on natural gas and outside sources."