Turkey invested $6.2B in power generation in 2017

Turkey saw power generation plants with 5,840 megawatts (MW) of capacity being taken into operation last year with an investment of approximately $6.2 billion, according to Energy and Natural Resources Ministry data released yesterday.

Turkey's installed capacity in electricity increased to a total of 85,200 MW as of the end of last year, the data said.

The biggest investment last year was made in natural gas and coal power plants. Natural gas combined cycle power plants with a power generation capacity of 2,621 MW were installed in one year. The investment amount of these plants was approximately $2.23 billion. An investment of $1.56 billion was also made in 320-MW capacity imported coal power plants that also commenced generating power in the same period. Last year, a total of 1,821 MW of renewable energy capacity started operating.

With an investment of $900 million, wind power plants with a capacity of 746.3 MW were taken into operation in the same period. In addition, around $1.1 billion was invested in hydroelectric power plants with a capacity of 736.9 MW.

The investment for geothermal, biomass, waste heat and solar power plants with approximately 338 MW of installed power reached $332 million.

Around $80 million was invested for the remaining 78 MW of domestic coal, lignite, fuel-oil, cogeneration and other sources for electricity generation.

Thus, the amount of investment made for the licensed power generation facilities with a total capacity of 5,840 MW, which was commissioned in 2017, reached $6.2 billion.

The average investment made for a MW of capacity in the electricity sector varies between $1.7 million and $850,000. While the investment amount for 1 MW capacity in lignite coal-fired power plants is estimated as $1.7 million, this figure is $1.5 million in hydroelectricity, $1.2 million in wind, $1.15 million in imported coal and $850,000 in natural gas.

In biogas, geothermal, solar and other sources, an average of $1 million is needed for 1 MW.