High-level credit for clean energy projects

Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology Çetin Ali Dönmez announced that a credit package between 400 and 500 million dollars is expected from the World Bank and other financial institutions for clean energy-focused projects to be carried out in Turkey.

In his assessment to an AA reporter during the opening of the Ayaş Agricultural SPP (Solar Power Plant), Dönmez stated that it has become difficult to find financing globally for investments that pollute the environment or where the environment is not prioritized.

Stating that the Ministry is in talks with all international organizations and is structuring a "project-focused credit" mechanism, Dönmez conveyed that low-interest loans could be utilized through these projects.

Emphasizing that the total amount of funds that the Ministry of Industry and Technology has disbursed and is currently disbursing over the last 2-3 years is over 1.5 billion dollars, Dönmez spoke as follows:

"We are structuring a project-focused credit mechanism. The Ministry of Treasury and Finance is also supporting these. It is trying to provide guarantees. Through these projects, we plan to provide international funds—long-term, low-interest, low-cost funds—to our industrialists, farmers, and the agricultural sector with some treasury support. We are about to make a new package agreement for industry. It will be announced; it has not been announced yet. We are also expecting to find funding between 400 and 500 million dollars there, which we can distribute through development agencies, focused on rural development. Since these are focused financing, their costs are low. More financing and investment opportunities have emerged globally for facilities using renewable energy and for these investments. We expect a credit package between 400-500 million dollars from the World Bank and other financial institutions for clean energy-focused projects to be carried out in Turkey."

Dönmez stated that external borrowing increases costs and that long-term loans with low borrowing costs are more valuable.

Expressing that relevant institutions are informed about where and in which projects the provided loans will be used, Dönmez said, "The loans are predominantly from the World Bank, but there are other financial institutions as well. We most recently received one from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. We can also find other loans sourced from Europe. These are 'focused' funds that will be used a bit more by the Ministry of Industry and Technology. These are funds where we are asked where we will use them. This also relieves us because we know where we will spend them."

APPLICATION AREA OF THE SOLAR ENERGY SECTOR EXPANDS WITH AGRICULTURAL SPP

Dönmez said that while electricity is generated with solar panels on the roof at the Ayaş Agricultural SPP, agricultural products can be produced more efficiently under the panels.

Stating that until today, panels in the solar power plant structure in Turkey were positioned close to the ground, Dönmez said, "The soil underneath was becoming unproductive. Therefore, it was very normal to have quite a bit of sensitivity regarding agricultural lands. In Agricultural SPP applications, however, areas will expand. It will become possible to place solar energy panels on many agricultural lands. This also means the growth of the renewable energy market. For Turkey, it means an increase in renewable energy sources. On the other hand, it will be a more efficient agricultural practice for our farmers engaged in agriculture, and the farmer's costs will decrease. A portion of the electricity produced from the Agricultural SPP will be used for the irrigation that the farmer needs for agriculture. Costs will decrease, and productivity will increase," he assessed.

Expressing that applications that will help Turkey's growth in the long term will also contribute to agricultural production, Dönmez continued:

"Thanks to this type of production, it will also have support in the long term to the extent of preventing inflation and price increases in agricultural products. The first of this project was very valuable. We did this project with METU-GÜNAM. This project is a research infrastructure. It is a research infrastructure supported by the Ministry of Industry and Technology. Within this, there are industrial firms, our panel manufacturers. There is Kalyon PV, CW Enerji. There is also the software firm Gumbel Group. There are our farmers in this. There are our professors. This was realized through a cooperation method. With the data obtained from here, it will be ensured that subsequent applications are carried out more efficiently."

Dönmez said that similar Agricultural SPP applications will be carried out in Kayseri and Bursa and that the projects will be conducted with METU-GÜNAM.

"WE ARE WORKING FOR THE ELECTRICITY PRODUCED FROM AGRICULTURAL SPP TO BE SOLD TO THE GRID"

Stating that suggestions from farmers are also being listened to and that work is being done on different applications, Dönmez noted the following:

"We plan to provide support to our farmers through both the agency and KOSGEB, public banks, and the Turkish financial system. It is not possible for our farmers to build an Agricultural SPP on their own. Our village head (muhtar) took the lead. We talked to our farmers here. Perhaps if flexibility in application is introduced regarding the energy produced from these panels also being fed into the grid, the farmer can both get their energy cheaply and perhaps feed the excess energy into the grid to some extent, reducing the total cost of agricultural production. We will consult with the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources on this issue. After observing the increase in productivity in agricultural production in projects like this, it might be possible to implement such an application. A solution where the producer can feed the excess electricity production into the grid. We will discuss this, hopefully. We will also follow up with our colleagues."

News Source: 12punto