Page 25 - Çevre Şehir İklim İngilizce - Sayı 3

Mehmet Emin Birpınar - Ersin Gürtepe

enabling the investments in renewable energy such as solar, wind and sea
(tide/wave, etc.) to be made also in off-shore areas, an amendment was made
in the Coastal Law No. 3621, paving the way for such implementation, based
on the amendment to the Law in 2018 (the Law Amending the Environmental
Law and Some Laws, 2020).
Furthermore, it is worth reminding that Yusufeli Dam (Yusufeli Dam and HEPP
Project, 2022) with an installed capacity of 0.5 GW, which is the highest dam in
Türkiye and the fifth highest dam in the world, will be put into operation very
soon. Also, nuclear energy, considered as clean energy with its non-emissive
aspect, was emphasized for the first time in that period, and in this context,
the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) investment, which is expected to be
operational in 2023, was realized (Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant Project, 2022).
However, production from renewable energy sources unfortunately is not
continuous, and despite the high installed power, its share within production
is in the range of 35-45% according to data obtained from TEİAŞ. In order
to overcome this issue, energy storage activities have been emphasized. For
the purpose of benefiting from the power of water fully, pumped storage
(Birpınar- Gürtepe, 2022) systems have been assessed and the first investment
examples have been started. In this respect, with the system to be established
in Eskişehir Gökçekaya Dam, it will endeavour to provide a continuous flow
of energy production at full capacity. Likewise, regulations have been made
by EPDK (Energy Market Regulatory Authority) for the storage of wind and
solar energy, and in this context, with the legal regulation on energy storage
(Regulation Amending the Regulation on Storage Activities in the Electricity
Market, 2022), published in the Official Gazette on November 19, license
exemption has been granted for installation of storage in the wind and the
sun, thus making investments attractive.
The statement that the investment demand, which was expected to reach
20-25 billion US Dollars (A New Era in Renewable Energy Begins, 2022)
according to EPDK sources, exceeded 230 billion US dollars (EPDK, 2023) in
a short time following the legal regulation, undoubtedly indicates that the
green transformation of energy in Türkiye has opened the door to a great
employment potential, as well.

High time for the sun and wind
With the aim of achieving the main target of the Paris Climate Agreement, a
great step has been taken towards green transformation in energy by reaching
a total of 20 GW (20 thousand MW) in 2022 from only 17 MW installed power in
2002, in the solar and wind sector, which attaches great importance to achieving
net zero emissions in the middle of the century. The Turkey Report (EMBER

10 Journal of Environment, Urbanization and Climate