“I would recommend to those interested in wind energy to join the multinational companies based in Turkey.”
COVER STORY: ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
Ferit Arsan is one of the first wind energy professionals in Turkey and has been consulting various companies for nearly a quarter century.
Ferit Arsan RA 62
What does your work entail?
I have developed a lot of wind projects. I am currently involved in developing a wind farm on the Aegean coast. The most rewarding aspect of this work is to develop feasible projects and sell them to interested parties at suitable prices. Development is a long process; locating a good windy location for the project, choosing the most suitable turbine and obtaining the required government permissions all take time. Completing the erection of the first turbine and starting to generate electrical energy according to the expectations are also very rewarding.
Where is wind energy headed?
Up to this year, incentives for renewable energy generation were very good in Turkey in order to promote local manufacturing. However, the renewable energy incentive has ended this year, so the increase of wind farms will probably slow down.
A lot of other countries around Turkey have just started building wind farms. I think most of them will switch to renewable energy in the coming years. The cost of wind turbines are now about half the price they were 20 years ago, and developing even less windy locations now seems feasible.
I would recommend to those interested in wind energy to join multinational companies based in Turkey so that they have the flexibility to work beyond Turkey. The wind turbines in Turkey have a capacity of about ten thousand megawatts, and they all need maintenance. Joining one of the companies who take care of periodical maintenance on behalf of turbine manufacturers, or even forming one, are other interesting options.
Published August 2021
