Turkish households are preparing to produce solar energy by installing roof-top and facade solar panels with a new legislation that enables residential utility customers to supply their own electricity, Turkish energy watchdog said Thursday.
Turkish citizens will be allowed to install solar panels with a maximum capacity of 10 megawatts with less red-tape, according to the official information gathered by Anadolu Agency.
Turkey tries to increase the share of renewable energy in its energy mix since the country has scarce domestic energy resources and it is dependent on expensive imports. In its bid to increase supplies from renewables, Ankara had awarded pre-licenses for wind energy projects with a total capacity of 2,130 megawatts during a five-day-marathon tendering period in late December 2017.
With electricity consumption rising each year, Turkey is seeking to decrease its energy bill, which currently stands at around $60 billion annually. It is attempting to increase its installed electricity capacity to 110,000 megawatts by 2023, from its current level of over 80,000 megawatts.According to the new legislation of Turkish Energy Market Regulatory Authority's (EMRA), electricity distribution companies will handle the new applications from the customers for the installation procedures.
The companies are obliged to approve the installations for up-to 3 megawatts (MW) solar capacity immediately if the application complies with the regulations. If the capacity is above 3 MW up to 10 MW, the distribution company will reply depending on the availability of the distributing transformer capacity.
By Muhsin Baris Tiryakioglu
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr