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ENERGO: Turkey launches new 1,000-MW mini solar tenders

Turkey will on March 30, 2022 collect initial bids in tenders for the construction and operation of 15 wind plants with a combined installed capacity of 1,000 MW under the YEKA GES-4 (Renewable Energy Source Areas, Solar Power Plants-4) round, the energy ministry said on July 14.

Each of three plants in Bor in Nigde Province, located in the Central Anatolia region, will have 100 MW of capacity. Two plants in Erzin, in the southern Hatay province on the border with Syria, will have 100-MW capacities and the remaining 10 plants in Viransehir in Sanliurfa province on the Syrian border will have 50-MW capacities.

The price ceiling is set at TRY0.40 per kWh ($0.046 per kWh).

Bids are placed for government purchase guarantees, with the government guaranteeing it will buy an initial 25 GWh of production.

On May 27, the energy ministry completed tenders for 74 solar power plants with a combined installed capacity of 1,000 MW under YEKA GES-3. The government provided 15-year purchase guarantees.

The best (lowest) bid stood at TRY0.185 per kWh and the highest bid at TRY0.32, with the average bid standing at TRY0.218. The ceiling price in the tender was set at TRY0.35.

Under the YEKA GES-1 tendering, a consortium of Malaysia’s Hanwha Q Cells and Turkey's Kalyon Enerji won the tender for the 1-GW Karapinar plant in Konya Province, a good flat region for taking advantage of sunny days in Central Anatolia, with its $0.699 per kWh bid in 2017.

Later, China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC) replaced Hanwha in the consortium.

In June 2021, the 271-MW first phase of the Karapinar plant went online.

In 2019, the 1,000-MW YEKA GES-2 tendering round, consisting of three plants (500 MW in Sanliurfa, 200 MW in Hatay, 300 MW in Nigde), was cancelled.

In February 2021, the government cut the feed-in tariff (YEKDEM) for solar power plants that will come online after end-June to TRY0.32 per kWh ($0.05) from $0.133, and for wind plants to TRY0.32 from $0.073.

On October 12, Turkey will collect initial bids in tenders for the construction and operation of 42 wind plants with a combined installed capacity of 2,000 MW under the YEKA RES-3 (Renewable Energy Source Areas, Wind Power Plants-3) round. The price ceiling is set at TRY0.45 per kWh ($0.05 per kWh).

Turkey has already held two rounds for wind plants (YEKA RES-1 and YEKA RES-2) for a total of 2,000 MW in capacity.

In January-April, the Turkish government paid a total of TRY19bn for 27 TWh of electricity produced under the YEKDEM; it amounts to 25% of the overall 105 TWh electricity production total in the country.

The average YEKDEM price stood at TRY0.695 per kWh versus the average market price of TRY0.314 in January-April.

The average market price rose 12% month on month to TRY0.407 per kWh in June from TRY0.363 in May.

Natural gas plants are subject to requirements to generate more electricity due to drought forcing down hydroelectricity potential capacity.