TURKISH WIND

This is an example of the EU’s concern about carbon leakage but it is the good kind.

Turkey is going to build its own wind turbine manufacturing industry. Model Enerji, based in Istanbul, will build its factory in a section of Ankara where the Turkish government is promoting industrial development.

It will build American Superconductor Corporation (AMSC) Windtec’s 1.65-megawatt WT1650 turbine with the support of AMSC Windtec’s team and will partner with Turkish manufacturing and engineering companies on parts and systems.

Its finished products will be certified by Germanischer Lloyd International, a world-respected seal of approval.

And it will take advantage of Turkey’s lower production and labor costs to significantly undercut EU prices.

Initially, its ambitions are to service the growing Turkish market, adding to its ability to beat foreign manufacturers by avoiding transportation costs and selling an obviously superior – by virtue of proximity – maintenance capability.

Building the company will not come cheap for Model Enerji’s backers.

Güç İçelli, partner/deputy director, Model Enerji: "An international company establishing a wind turbine farm would need to hire 30 to 40 workers. An engineer costs at least 800 euros per day, and nothing is established in a day. The whole process takes months. Adding everything together, this would all require a serious amount of money."

There are good reasons for the company to believe it has a winner. Turkish electricity demand is expected to grow 7-to-8% every year for the foreseeable future and Turkey has repeatedly indicated an unwillingness to remain dependent of Iranian and Russian natural gas supplies.

Turkey passed a New Energy law in 2005 and upped its feed-in tariff to 5.5 Euro cents/kilowatt-hour in 2007. By the end of 2007, its installed wind capacity had jumped to 146 megawatts from the 2006 level of 50 megawatts.

At the beginning of 2008, Turkey was expected to have another 600 megawatts of installed capacity by the end of 2009 and had 982 megawatts in development.

Güç İçelli, partner/deputy director, Model Enerji: " This wind turbine production investment is worth 30 million euros…We plan to see the first domestic turbines at work by October of next year."

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Turkey to become a leader in wind energy
December 14, 2008 (Anatolia News Agency via Hurriyet Daily News)

WHO
Model Enerji (Güç İçelli, partner/deputy director); Nurettin Özdebir, chairman, Ankara Chamber of Industry (ASO); American Superconductor Corporation (AMSC) Windtec

WHAT
Turkey continues to invest in and build wind.

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WHEN
- Model Enerji was founded in early 2008.
- Model Enerji intends to have a prototype installed and commissioned by mid-2009 and to be in production by the end of 2009
- Model Enerji’s contract with AMSC was signed in August 2008.

WHERE
- Model Enerji is Turkey’s first “megawatt-class” turbine manufacturer.
- Model Enerji is based in Istanbul.
- The Model Enerji factory will be built in Ankara’s industrial zone.
- Model Enerji’s contract with AMSC Windtec is for exclusive rights in Turkey and non-exclusive rights for Mediterranean and Eastern European countries.

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WHY
- Model Enerji contracted with AMSC Windtec to manufacture, sell, install, operate and maintain the 1.56-megawatt AMSC WT1650. It uses a doubly fed induction generator drive train.
- Model Enerji has purchased 38,000 square meters of land for wind manufacturing and production.
- Model Enerji’s 2 Turkish partners: (1) Pars Makina Ltd., a turbo and rotary heat engine developer/ manufacturer and (2) SNC Kalite Ltd., a quality assurance systems and integrated logistic systems expert.

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QUOTES
- Güç İçelli, partner/deputy director, Model Enerji: "We aim to be a leader in the sector by designing the most suitable turbines for various regions based on their local wind exposures. We one day hope to place ourselves among world-renowned wind energy brands…"
- Güç İçelli, partner/deputy director, Model Enerji: "We will benefit from local suppliers in production. We aim for our products to be 70 percent domestic for the next three years. After five years we aim to be producing 100 percent of local products…We believe that this move will help Turkey to lower its dependence on foreign countries for energy."