Privately-owned Turkish utility Enerjisa will bring on line Turkey's largest wind farm to date after securing a €135mn ($180mn) loan for its construction from the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development.
The 52 turbines with a total capacity of 142.5MW that will comprise the Enerjisa Bares onshore wind park in Balikesir, western Turkey, are scheduled to come on line in the second half of this year.
“We are targeting to increase the share of renewable energy sources in the portfolio of Enerjisa which aims to install a capacity of 5,000MW by 2015, in order to meet the electricity demand in Turkey in the most reliable and environmentally friendly manner,” Enerjisa chief financial officer Bernhard Raberger said.
Turkey's installed wind capacity is around 1,800MW, according to the country's wind energy association. Another 517.5MW is under construction, including the Enerjisa Balikesir facility, and a further 5,444MW is licensed for future construction.