Turkey's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Alparslan Bayraktar, has announced plans to launch the country's first offshore wind Renewable Energy Resource Zone (YEKA) tender following the completion of permitting processes for four identified maritime sites. Bayraktar stated that the ministry has designated offshore wind farm locations in the Saros Bay, Gökçeada, Bozcaada, and Edremit areas, with a target of reaching 5 gigawatts (GW) of installed offshore wind capacity by 2035. "As the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, we have identified four separate offshore sites in the Saros Bay, Gökçeada, Bozcaada, and Edremit areas. Following the completion of the permitting process, we will hold Turkey's first offshore wind YEKA tender. Our target is to achieve 5,000 megawatts of installed offshore wind capacity by 2035," said the Minister. The Minister also stated that Turkey will continue to organize YEKA tenders totaling at least 2 GW annually, with 1.5 GW allocated specifically for wind energy in 2026. "2026 will truly be the year of wind energy. In fact, 1,500 megawatts within the YEKA tenders will be designated for wind power," Bayraktar remarked. Speaking at the Turkish Wind Energy Congress, Bayraktar noted that Turkey's total installed capacity now exceeds 125 GW, with renewable energy sources accounting for approximately 63% of this total. He pointed out that installed wind capacity has grown from 20 megawatts in 2005 to over 15 GW currently, with wind power expected to constitute about 11% of Turkey's electricity generation in 2025. Bayraktar also mentioned that Turkey plans to invest approximately $30 billion in transmission infrastructure by 2035 and aims to increase the combined installed capacity of wind and solar power to 120 GW by the same year.
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