Hydrogen – The Growing Potential in a Net Zero World

Challenges in Renewable Financing – YEKA Projects and Outlook Post-2020

The Turkish government has recently introduced the Renewable Energy Resources Area (“YEKA”) model to boost renewable investment in Turkey. These are large-scale renewable projects which are tendered out by the Turkish government and backed by long-term PPAs with an aim to develop local manufacturing and produce low-cost renewable energy. As YEKDEM mechanism (another tool which has been used to support renewables) is expected to terminate by the end of 2020, YEKA projects are currently the primary driving force of renewable investment in Turkey.

So far, Turkish government has tendered (i) a 1,000 MW solar project, (ii) 1,000 MW wind project, and (iii) most recently four wind projects, each with a capacity of 250 MW. Yet, due to various challenges faced, the progress of the initial projects has been less than expected so far.
The discussion is intended to cover the challenges faced by YEKA projects from financing, regulatory and technical perspectives and the future of renewable financing post-2020.

Speakers:

Zeynep Çakmak, Partner, Çakmak Avukatlık Ortaklığı
Günay Gokcen, Council Member, IPFA Turkey

Keynote:

Mr. Değer Saygın, Director, SHURA Energy Transition Center

Panel:

Mustafa Durakoğlu, Partner, Çakmak Avukatlık Ortaklığı (Moderator)
Alp Farhi, Project Finance Advisor, ENERCON
Yasemin Kuytak, Director of the Turkish Representative Office, KfW-IPEX Bank
Cahit Büyükbaş, Senior Manager (Finance, Strategy and Mergers & Acquisitions), Enerjisa
Bayram Mercan, Project Consultant and Business Development Coordinator, BTY Group

Mark Neller’s slides and the REA reports are available for members to download below.

– Mark Neller, Arup
– REA Bioenergy Strategy – Phase 1 State of Play
– REA Bioenergy Strategy – Phase 2 A Vision to 2032 and Beyond
– REA Bioenergy Strategy – Phase 3
– REA Paper: Going Negative – Policy Proposals for UK Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS)