Turkish Wind Market

Turkish Daily News:

Model Enerji, Turkey's first megawatt-class wind turbine manufacturer, has acquired a licence for the WT1650 wind turbine design from a leading American energy technology company.

Under the terms of the contract, Model Enerji has exclusive rights to manufacture, sell, install, operate and maintain the WT1650 in Turkey and has non-exclusive rights for surrounding Mediterranean and Eastern European countries. The license deal was announced last week by the American Superconductor Corporation, or AMSC.

Istanbul-based Model Enerji plans to manufacture the 1.65 megawatt (MW) turbines, which utilize a doubly-fed induction generator drive train, in the Ankara industrial zone. The company plans to have its first prototype installed and commissioned in mid-2009 and begin producing the turbines by the end of 2009. Subject to achieving certain volume production levels with the WT1650, Model Enerji also has a right of first refusal to license a proprietary 2 or 2.5 MW wind turbine design from AMSC Windtec that will utilize a full-conversion permanent magnet generator drive train.

“Because of its vast wind resources, open terrain and industrial infrastructure, Turkey is predicted to be among the world's fastest growing wind energy markets,” said M. Celal Keki, managing director of Model Enerji. "Our highly experienced management team has extensive expertise in Turkey's energy industry. Utilizing AMSC Windtec's designs and expertise, our company will be the first wind turbine manufacturer in Turkey and is ideally positioned to capitalize on this advancing market.” (more)