From imports to independence – wind energy in Balıkesir
The Turkish province of Balıkesir lies nestled between the Aegean Sea and the Sea of Marmara. As part of the Marmara region, it is known for its diverse landscapes, agricultural productivity, and thermal springs. Thanks to its coastal location, Balıkesir is also one of the windiest regions in Turkey – ideal conditions for the expansion of wind power.
And such expansion is urgently needed. Turkey is facing a major energy policy challenge: due to economic growth and a rising population, energy demand has increased significantly over the past two decades. In 2023, over 70 percent of the energy consumed in Turkey was imported – a 141 percent increase since the year 2000 (International Energy Agency, 2023). Fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas account for more than 80 percent of Turkey’s energy supply (ibid.).
This is where this climate project comes into play. Since 2015, seven wind turbines with a total capacity of 10MWe have been generating electricity from wind energy on a mountain ridge near Ortamandıra in the province of Balıkesir. The facility feeds approximately 37,900 MWh of electricity into the Turkish power grid annually, thereby reducing dependency on imports and fossil fuels. Each year, the project saves around 24,560 tons of carbon emissions.
The impact of the project goes beyond climate action: it creates jobs, strengthens the regional economy, and promotes technology transfer for renewable energy in Turkey.
Project Standard
The project contributes to the the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals
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).
Four criteria for projects to meet quality thresholds
The life cycle of a climate project
A climate project has a set life cycle consisting of various phases, from the feasibility assessment to the retirement of Verified Emission Reductions (VERs).
The project developer reviews the general feasibility of the project, the project design, and the financing. Then, the Project Design Document (PDD) is prepared, which contains all the basic information about the project, such as the objective, location, timeline, and duration.
In this phase, independent auditors examine the PDD and the information it contains. This phase often also involves field visits with on-side interviews and analyses. Auditors are accredited, impartial assessors who have to be approved by the relevant standard as a validation and verification body (VVB). TÜV Nord/Süd, S&A Carbon LLC., and SCS Global Services are examples of VVBs."
Once validated, the project can be registered with a standard such as the Verified Carbon Standard or the Gold Standard. All high-quality climate projects are based on international standards. They provide the framework for project design, construction, carbon accounting, and monitoring. Recognised standards make the climate project system and the projects themselves resilient, traceable, and credible.
After the climate project has been registered, the monitoring begins. Here, the project developers monitor and document the data of the project activities and progress. The duration of the monitoring phase varies from project to project: it can cover two years, but documentation over five or seven years is also possible.
At the end of each monitoring phase, a VVB checks and assesses whether the values and project activities stated in the monitoring report are correct. As with validation, visits to the project site are often part of the verification process.
Once verified, the emission reductions that were confirmed in the verification phase can be issued as VERs. The steps of monitoring, verification, and issuance of VERs are repeated regularly and are therefore considered as a cycle.
Once a VER has been used, it must be retired. This process is also reflected in the registry. If the financing of a climate project is done through ClimatePartner, the VERs are bundled in a system certified by TÜV Austria and then retired on a regular basis. This ensures that each VER can no longer be sold and is only used once, preventing double counting.
Explore our projects
Biochar for Climate Action, Healthy Soils, and Better Harvests
A certified climate project combined with additional commitment
Expansion of renewable energy generation in Asia
Ceramic water filters save CO2 and improve health
Improved cookstoves worldwide – for better health and cleaner air
A certified climate project combined with additional commitment
Powering access to renewable energy in Africa
A certified climate project combined with additional commitment
Restored ecosystems remove carbon
Turning degraded farmlands into healthy ecosystems
Improved cookstoves - better for health and the environment