Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Fatih Dönmez made evaluations regarding the activities and budget of his ministery during Fiscal Year 2021 Central Government Budget Law Proposal negotiations at the Turkish Grand National Assembly General Board Meeting.

Stating that in order to create predictable markets and protect the consumer, energy markets are established in a financially strong, liberalized, competitive, stable and transparent manner, whereas the implementation of liberalized regulations is ongoing, thanks to an environment that facilitates faster and more convenient investments, Dönmez went on to say;

“Thanks to the Energy Markets Management Inc., which was created for the sustainable operation of energy markets, our country has moved to an important point in its region, in line with its vision of becoming an energy trade center. Rather than just being a country where gas or electricity is used only as transit, our goal is to become one where these products are commercialized, bought and sold on our Commodities Exchange. In line with the progress of the energy sector and the marketplace, our goal is to launch the Futures Electricity Marketplace, also referred to as postdated physical electricity marketplace delivery, sometime during 2021. Our stance regarding market development is straightforward in that our goal is to take Turkey from being a mere energy transfer hub into a center where it is not only transferred, but also priced.”

“If The Resource Is Ours, The Technology Should Be Ours As Well”

Fatih Dönmez, the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, said they are fully behind the slogan, “If the resource is ours, the technology should be ours as well.”

In stating they have implemented the Renewable Energy Resource Fields (YEKA) model, which requires domestic production, domestic engineers, local R&D and innovation in the field of renewable energy, Dönmez said they aim to become a country which constantly renews itself in energy technologies and exports technology with this model.

Pointing out that Turkey has become a technology base that is now capable of meeting local and international demand for wind turbines, solar panels, Mr. Dönmez went on to say the following;

 “During the first quarter of 2021, we shall be receiving 74 competition applications with a total installed power of 1000 megawatts within the scope of the small-scale ‘Mini YEKA’ application with the method of allocation in exchange use of domestic goods we developed to enable small- and medium-scale investors to get into the renewable energy sector. As a reflection of all these commitments we have undertaken, the world’s largest renewable energy equipment manufacturers are locating their regional offices in Turkey and are carrying out their regional operations utilizing Turkey as their headquarters. These circumstances have contributed the transfer of serious know-how, information and experience in renewable energy, in terms of both production and management skills into our country.”

Minister Dönmez stated that they implemented the renewable energy tariff era by launching the Green Tariff (YETA) in order to have citizens become part of this process, not only in production but also in consumption.

In stating that citizens will be able to demand to use electricity produced only from renewable energy sources, Dönmez said that in 2021, they will also be launching an Organized YEK-G market platform with a Renewable Energy Resource Guarantee Certificate (YEK-G) in order to prove that a certain amount of electrical energy is produced from renewable energy sources.

Dönmez also said that within the scope of the development and modernization of the electricity infrastructure, they have begun work to prepare the plans and programs for the 2021-25 implementation period, in which they plan to invest approximately 68 billion TL according to the June 2020 CPI. He added that they are planning to make an 18 billion TL investment in electricity transmission systems during the 2021-23 implementation period.

Dönmez stated that in meeting the energy demand, one of the important alternatives amongst power stations producing uninterrupted power, called ‘base load power plants,’ is nuclear power plants, which are in the zero-emission power plant class.

Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, which in this direction will be Turkey’s first nuclear power plant (NSG) In this regard, Dönmez stated that construction was ongoing on the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, which will be Turkey’s first nuclear power plant, and that the first reactor would come online in 2023, with the remaining three reactors to be commissioned at one-year intervals, that is, in 2024, 2025 and 2026.

Source: Anadolu Agency