Hakan Yildirim has been elected as the new head of the Turkish Wind Energy Association (TWEA), the association announced in a statement late Saturday.
Yildirim is currently the CEO of Kalyon Energy AS., one of the winning consortium partners of Turkey's first Renewable Energy Resource Zone Projects (YEKA) for wind energy. He also was a former CEO of Turkey's Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy.
A Siemens Gamesa-Turkerler-Kalyon consortium won the first 1,000-megawatt wind tender offered by YEKA in August 2017.
According to statement, over the next three years, the association's new management will focus on increasing installed wind capacity, local manufacturing, and research and development through collaboration with public institutions and academic institutions.
In addition, the management will also target sustainable investments, YEKA projects, hybrid power plants and energy storage integration.
The new management will undertake its responsibilities based on the motto 'Wind of the New Era' by following global developments in the energy sector and ensuring national resources are utilized with higher efficiency.
In his statement, the newly elected president Yildirim said he was honored to serve in his new role.
'I feel pride in taking over this duty from Mr. Mustafa Serdar Ataseven who is the former president of TWEA, and I am impatient to contribute to our ongoing success. I am looking forward to working with the distinguished members of our board, our devoted team and the members of TWEA, whose contributions will be very important to our success,' he said.
TWEA Secretary General Guray Erol stressed that a new renewables era had begun in Turkey and throughout the world.
'The preparations of the wind energy industry especially for the period beyond 2020, the simplification of permit processes and project financing will be the priority of our management. With this purpose, we have prepared a versatile list of board members who can represent all stakeholders of our industry and can work in different fields,' he concluded.
By Gulsen Cagatay
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr