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Clean wind energy for the Turkish power grid


Turkey, Ziyaret
ClimatePartner ID: 1016
Wind energyGet to know the project

Turkey is a growing energy market with increasing electricity demand. Thermal power plants – particularly those running on natural gas and coal – continue to dominate the Turkish electricity mix and generate significant greenhouse gas emissions. Every kilowatt-hour fed into the grid from renewable sources directly displaces electricity from fossil fuel plants, thereby reducing emissions from power generation.

This is exactly where the wind power project comes in. In the province of Hatay in southern Turkey, near the villages of Nahırlı and Aknehir, the project operates 30 wind turbines with a total capacity of 76 MW. The turbines convert kinetic wind energy into electricity, which is fed into the Turkish power grid via the regional substation. The expected annual net electricity production is 262,500 MWh. The electricity generated replaces power that would otherwise have been drawn from the emissions-intensive Turkish grid.

The project employs local workers and places particular emphasis on occupational safety and skills development: employees regularly participate in training sessions, including first aid training, health and safety courses, and a gender equality awareness training. Local stakeholders from the surrounding villages are regularly involved in the project process; a grievance logbook is publicly accessible at the community house of Aknehir village. No complaints were received throughout the last monitoring period.

To protect the local environment, wastewater is properly disposed of and hazardous waste is handled professionally. Regular ornithological studies monitor the impact on birdlife: the current report from 2023 confirms that the collision risk for birds is minimal and that the site is not located on a significant migratory bird route.

How wind energy contributes to climate action

As the name suggests, wind turbines use the power of the wind to generate energy. During this process, a generator located inside the wind turbine converts kinetic energy into electrical energy. As energy is still mainly generated from fossil fuels in many areas around the world, clean wind energy can replace some of this fossil, high-emission energy and verifiably save CO2 emissions.

In most cases, the sustainably generated electricity from the wind power projects is fed into a regional power grid, which diversifies the power supply and improves energy security in regions that are frequently affected by power shortages and outages. A project often creates increased job opportunities for the local population and the area can be used for additional activities, such as agriculture. Wind power projects make an important contribution to a clean energy supply worldwide and contribute to sustainable development with respect to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Wind energy projects in the ClimatePartner portfolio are registered with international standards.

The project aims to contribute to these United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Project facts

Climate projects generally fall into one of three groups: carbon reduction, carbon removal, or carbon avoidance. Carbon reduction projects reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced by a specific activity (e.g., improved cookstoves). Carbon removal projects remove carbon from the atmosphere by sequestering it in carbon sinks (e.g., reforestation). Carbon avoidance projects avoid greenhouse gas emissions entering the atmosphere (e.g., protecting forests from deforestation with REDD+ projects).

All climate projects are based on international standards. They set processes and requirements which carbon projects must fulfill to be recognised as a proven method of reducing carbon emissions.

Climate projects demonstrably reduce, remove, or avoid greenhouse gas emissions. This is achieved with various technologies, ranging from nature-based solutions to social impact projects and renewable energies.

Climate projects go through third-party validation and verification. Verification happens regularly after each monitoring period. A validation and verification body checks and assesses whether the values and project activities stated in the monitoring report are correct and verifies them. As with validation, visits to the project site are often part of the process.

Climate projects go through third-party validation and verification. Validation happens early in the project life cycle and ensures that the project design is in line with current processes and requirements. This phase often also involves field visits with on-site interviews and analyses. Auditors are accredited, impartial assessors who have to be approved as a validation and verification body (VVB) by the standards body.

This figure shows the estimated annual emission reductions calculated before the project started. The actual number of emissions saved in each monitoring period may differ. The background to this process is that in order to be registered as a climate project, the project operator must submit the calculation of the estimated emissions savings using the ex-ante methodology in a Project Design Document (PDD), which is similar to a business plan. This calculation is validated by an independent auditor. The values determined in the PDD are recalculated during regular monitoring periods based on actual project performance, documented in a monitoring report, and verified again by independent auditors at the end of the monitoring period to ensure a robust process. Independent verification thus provides ex-post verification of actual emission reductions. Verified emission reductions are not distributed until the savings have actually been made.
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