Turkey - Alstom enters the Turkish wind energy market

Alstom has signed a contract with Güri Construction and Engineering Co. Inc. through Güri’s subsidiary, Eolos Wind Energy Generation Co. Inc. for the construction of a new wind farm in Turkey - Alstom’s first wind power contract in the country.

The 24 MW Senkoy wind farm, to be built near the city of Hatay, in the southern part of Turkey, will comprise eight Alstom ECO 100 wind turbines of 3 MW each and is expected to become operational in late 2011 or early 2012. Under the terms of the contract, Alstom will supply, install and commission the wind farm, and provide operation and maintenance services for the first five years.

Turkey’s electricity consumption is increasing by an average of 8-9% per year. To help meet this demand the country is increasingly turning to renewable energy sources as a means of improving energy security and curbing its dependence on imported gas.

Turkey has around 46.5 GW installed generation capacity of which just over 1.1 GW is wind power. Recent years have seen the start of a wind energy boom in the country. In 2009, 343 MW of new capacity was added, representing a year-on-year growth rate of 75%. Installed capacity is expected to grow at between 500-1000 MW per year, reaching more than 5000 MW before 2015. Turkey targets 20,000 MW of wind power capacity by 2023.

With an estimated annual production of approx 83 gigawatt hours (GWh)*, the Senkoy wind farm will avoid the production of over 66,000 tonnes a year of CO2 and meet the electricity needs of around 41,000 average Turkish households.

The contract is further success for Alstom’s 3MW ECO 100 wind turbine, which represents a major advance in turbine power capacity and higher energy yield. Senkoy is Güriº’s second wind farm, and this is the first time Güriº buys wind turbines from Alstom. “With the ECO 100 of Alstom, the estimated yearly energy production of the Senkoy farm is almost 10% higher than originally calculated when developing the project,” commented Müsfik Yamantürk, CEO, Güriº.

Güriº is one of the largest construction companies in Turkey, with more than 50 years experience and approximately 6,000 employees. The company is active within the fields of water resources, energy, industrial production, transportation, buildings and pipelines in various regions such as the Gulf, Middle East, North Africa, Eastern Europe, Russian Federation and Turkey.

“The fast growing Turkish wind energy market holds huge potential and this project is a promising step for us in the country,” commented Alfonso Faubel, Alstom Wind Vice President. ‘We’re very pleased to bring Güriº the benefits of our new generation of wind turbines, and to support Turkey’s push to increase its installed wind power capacity. “

Alstom has been active in the Turkish power market for more than 50 years and has helped the country develop both thermal and renewable energy generation. More than 50% of the country’s installed electric capacity includes Alstom equipment.

*One gigawatt hour (GWh) equals one million kilowatt hours. A kilowatt hour (KWh) is equivalent to the energy consumed by a 100 watt light bulb burning for 10 hours.

Alstom offers integral wind farm solutions, covering site development activities, system or key component design and manufacturing, assembly, installation, and O&M services for a wide range of onshore wind turbines spanning 1.67 MW to 3 MW. Through Alstom’s two wind turbines platforms ECO 80 and ECO 100, the company proposes the appropriate choice of wind turbine to match different wind farm locations and wind speeds.

All Alstom’s wind products feature the company’s ALSTOM PURE TORQUE concept, a unique mechanical design concept, which protects the gearbox and other drive train components from deflection loads. To date the company has installed or is installing more than 2,081 wind turbines in more than 110 wind farms, corresponding to a total capacity of more than 2684 MW.

Alstom’s wind business is present in Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, UK, Japan, India, and has established local teams in China, Brazil and the United States. Furthermore, the industrial footprint, originally mainly based in Spain, is under international development with the opening of two new units, one in Brazil (State of Bahia) and one in the United States (Amarillo, Texas) that will be fully operational by 2011.

For more information on this article or if you would like to know more about what www.windfair.net can offer, please do not hesitate to contact Trevor Sievert at ts@windfair.net

www.windfair.net is the largest international B2B Internet platform – ultimately designed for connecting wind energy enthusiasts and companies across the globe!