ANKARA, Turkey, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- Turkey is currently hosting the International Energy Congress 2009-Renewable Energy in the capital Ankara.
Anadolu Ajansi reported Thursday that Turkey's Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz told participants that the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is working to draft and pass a law on renewable energy sources. Yildiz said, "The Turkish government is determined to develop all renewable energy sources in the country."
Among the sources of renewable energy of greatest interest to the government are winds farms, but two years of legislative work have yet to produce a definitive tender process. Addressing the impasse Yildiz said, "There is need for a sound coordination in this process."
The issue of developing indigenous renewable energy resources is of great importance to the Turkish government, as the hydrocarbon-poor country is currently forced to import 90 percent of its energy needs, which has had a significant impact on the country's balance of payments during the last two years, which have seen record high energy prices before the global recession.
