Government plans to invest US$ 11 billion in energy efficiency measures to reduce primary energy consumption by 14 per cent by 2023

The EBRD welcomes Turkey’s National Energy Efficiency Action Plan which sets the country on course to implement a reduction of 14 per cent of primary energy consumption by 2023.

The government has committed to invest almost US$ 11 billion in energy efficiency measures set out by the plan.

“This is a major step towards making a rapidly expanding economy also much more energy efficient. The plan builds on the realisation that a sustainable, efficient and prudent generation and consumption of energy is crucial for both economic growth and a sound environment. The action plan addresses the need to balance both aspects with detailed measures and where possible and feasible the EBRD stands ready to support this crucial effort,” said EBRD Managing Director for Turkey, Arvid Tuerkner.

Turkey has become one of the fastest growing economies in the world with a real GDP growth expected to reach around 7 per cent in 2017. The government expects the growth to average to around 5.5 per cent a year for the coming three years.

With increased growth comes increased energy consumption: according to government figures, Turkey has the highest growth rate of energy demand among all OECD countries. However, it is able to meet only around 26 per cent of its total energy demand from domestic resources, and is dependent on imports for over 90 per cent of its oil and gas needs; this dependency contributes heavily to the country’s external imbalances. Consequently improving energy efficiency is extremely important for Turkey.

The National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEEAP) will help tackle the challenge. Developed with the help of the EBRD and funded by the European Union, the NEEAP closely follows and mirrors the activities and policies of the European Union in the area of energy and energy efficiency.

The plan includes a large number of measures, combining the general energy efficiency framework and cross-cutting sectorial measures. They include steps like greater use of renewable energy and district heating in buildings and encouraging the use of combined heat and power across industries. The plan also envisages the development of a national energy efficiency financing mechanism and a regulatory framework for the creation of a heating and cooling market.

Sectorial measures will include industry, transport, construction, heating and cooling, agriculture and energy generation and transformation itself.

Turkey is also investing heavily in developing its potential in renewable sources of energy such as wind, solar, hydro and geothermal energy generation. The country is seeking to develop 30 per cent of its total installed capacity from renewable sources by 2023. The objective is to add 34 GW of hydropower, 20 GW of wind energy, 5 GW of solar energy, 1.5 GW of geothermal and 1 GW of biomass. Turkey also aims to have 10 per cent of its transport sector needs met by renewable energy.

The EBRD has been supporting this foray into green energy as an investor as well as through its work with the government. The Bank also assisted the development of the National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP), which was financed by the government of Spain. Under the plan, the Bank is currently supporting the Turkish government in strengthening and streamlining the regulatory framework for the development of the renewable energy sector.

The EBRD’s investment in green energy in Turkey includes large scale stand-alone projects such as theEnerjisa Bares wind power plant in Balıkesir Rotor wind farm in Osmaniye, and geothermal plants Efeler and Kizildere, both in Buyuk Menderes Graben, the area in Turkey with the greatest potential for geothermal energy.

The Bank also finances mid-sized and small-scale renewable energy generation  in the private sector through dedicated credit lines to Turkish banks, MidSEFF (Turkey Mid-size Sustainable Energy Financing Facility) and TurSEFF (Turkey Sustainable Energy Financing Facility), respectively. The EBRD is also financing sustainable energy in the residential sector through TuREEFF, Turkey Residential Energy Efficiency Financing Facility.

To date, the Bank’s financing under these three frameworks in the amount of €1.8 billion has reached over 1,000 companies and 1,500 households.

“Green” projects account for half of the Bank’s portfolio in Turkey. To date, the Bank has invested €10 billion in various sectors of the country’s economy, with almost all investments in the private sector.