Turkey among the cheapest for energy prices

Turkey ranks 10th for cheapest household energy and fourth among OECD nations, according to an energy price index released last month. Due to recent price increases in electricity last year, Turkey dropped two places from the International Energy Agency, or IEA, 2007 rankings. The IEA report included a meticulous inquiry into energy prices among OECD countries. Real energy prices, including both electric and natural gas were calculated by multiplying nominal prices, based on the index of producer prices by that of consumer prices for households. While Turkey was the most expensive energy user in 2002, with an index value of 116.1 over the last five years, due to a lack of price increases in 2004, it became the 19th cheapest country, with a value of 102.9. After placing 18th in 2005 and 14th in 2006, Turkey increased its rank to eighth last year. Turkey, whose index value rose to the level of 112.2 this year, became the 10th cheapest country due to recent increases in electric prices in 2008. Considering that the OECD European index value has been set at 117.2 and the total OECD as 130.8, Turkey surpassed both these averages in the second quarter of 2008.

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)