The World Bank Group, in collaboration with Türkiye's Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, has unveiled a roadmap to develop an offshore wind industry in Türkiye. The "Offshore Wind Roadmap for Türkiye" outlines strategies to achieve 5 GW of installed offshore wind capacity by 2035, leveraging local insights and global experience.
This initiative is part of the ESMAP-IFC Offshore Wind Development Program, supported by PROBLUE. It was introduced at the 'Türkiye Offshore Wind Conference: Roadmap and Next Steps' event in Istanbul on November 7-8, 2024.
The roadmap identifies Türkiye's geographical advantages as conducive to developing a competitive offshore wind power industry. Favorable resources near high-demand centers could enhance energy independence and complement other renewable technologies. With its strategic location close to European and Asian markets, Türkiye could become a regional clean energy hub.
Türkiye’s waters have an estimated technical potential of 75 GW for offshore wind resources. The roadmap projects up to 7 GW of capacity by 2040 but notes challenges due to water depths exceeding 50 meters, necessitating floating foundations and careful planning to mitigate environmental impacts.
Two scenarios are presented:
- Low growth assumes 3.5 GW installed by 2040, potentially creating 32,000 FTE jobs years and contributing $4 billion to the economy.
- High growth envisions 7 GW installed by the same year, generating 110,000 FTE jobs years and adding $16 billion gross value.
To realize these scenarios, the roadmap suggests actions such as setting long-term visions beyond 2035, implementing regulatory frameworks to de-risk projects, establishing bankable PPAs, enhancing infrastructure, and developing domestic supply chains.
Humberto Lopez from the World Bank highlighted that "offshore wind holds the potential to accelerate Türkiye's transition to net-zero." Sean Whittaker emphasized that "this roadmap provides detailed analysis...to fully realise this new source of domestic renewable energy." Yasemin Orucu noted that "a resilient pathway powered by offshore wind can help Türkiye meet its development goals."
The World Bank supports further implementation through the ‘Türkiye – European Union Instrument for PreAccession (IPA) Energy Sector Program Phase IV Project - Offshore Wind Support’ until 2027.
The roadmap was initiated under the World Bank Group’s Offshore Wind Development Program funded by ESMAP in partnership with IFC. The Turkish Ministry requested support for integrating offshore wind into its Power Development Plan following extensive stakeholder consultations.
For more information on the program: https://esmap.org/offshore-wind