Sinovel to Supply Turkish Wind Farm

According to Bloomberg, Sinovel will provide the wind turbines to the massive wind power project, which is being developed by Istanbul-based Agaoglu Group.

Chinese wind power companies including Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co. plan to expand abroad to combat a slowing home wind farm market after a tighter government approval process for new wind power projects raised competition.

Goldwind, China’s second-largest wind power, bought two wind farms in Montana this year and will supply wind farm projects in Chile. Sinovel signed a pact to work with Greece’s Public Power Corp. on wind energy last year.

Sinovel, based in Beijing, “looked positively” on an invitation to base part of the production in Turkey. The wind energy project’s investment value is $1 billion, the company said.

Turkey, which seeks to generate 30 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2023, needs to develop clean energy at a faster pace, Agaoglu Chairman Ali Agaoglu said.

The nation, which is seeking to curb emissions while reducing dependence on energy imports, installed 470 megawatts of wind power last year, according to European Wind Energy Association data. It had 1,799 megawatts of wind power in total at the end of 2011, according to the Brussels-based industry group.

Wind energy in Turkey

End 1998: 9 MW (- %)
End 1999: 9 MW (- %)
End 2000: 19 MW (+111.2 %)
End 2001: 19 MW (- %)
End 2002: 19 MW (- %)
End 2003: 21 MW (+10.6 %)
End 2004: 21 MW (- %)
End 2005: 20 MW (-4.7 %)
End 2006: 65 MW (+225 %)
End 2007: 207 MW (+218.5 %)
End 2008: 333 MW (+60.9 %)
End 2009: 801 MW (+140.6 %)
End 2010: 1,329 MW (+66 %)
End 2011: 1,799 MW (+35.4 %)

By José Santamarta, www.sinovel.com/