Saudi Arabia, Turkiye sign deal to build 3,000 MW of wind power capacity

Istanbul, Turkey - Saudi Arabia and Turkey inked a deal on Tuesday to expand their cooperation in building wind power plants in Turkey, according to the Turkish energy ministry. The second phase of the agreement, signed at the COP31 summit in Antalya, will see the construction of wind power facilities with a combined capacity of 3,000 megawatts. This equates to one-fifth of Turkey's existing installed wind power capacity.

Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar expressed the government's commitment to enhancing strategic energy ties with Saudi Arabia, stating that the investments would bolster grid infrastructure and improve system flexibility. The first phase of the agreement, agreed upon in February, involves ACWA Power constructing solar power plants with a total installed capacity of 2,000 MW in Sivas and Karaman's Taseli region.

This arrangement will collectively increase the total capacity of power plants to be jointly developed with Saudi Arabia to 5,000 MW. Turkish government projections indicate that around 10,000 MW of new wind and solar power capacity needs to be installed annually on average to meet the nation's long-term energy objectives.