Should Turkey look east to oil-rich countries, or west to renewables?
Turkey seems to be becoming more interested in renewable energy these days, especially in the areas of solar, geothermal like that of Ormat, and wind energy. But the future of this country, which straddles the link between east and west, appears to be centered around a proposed amendment to a renewable energy law (links to PDF) , which although passed back in May, 2005, has yet to really become the norm in a land that is trying to decide whether to align itself with the west, resulting in eventual EU membership, or renew its ties with the Islamic World. Recent measures to dissociate itself with its ally Israel in recent weeks illuminate this dilemma. Turkey’s parliament passed a renewable energy law known as Law No. 5346 concerning the use of Renewable Energy Resources for the Generation of Electrical Energy, which went into effect on May 18, 2005. This law, Turkey’s first in regards to renewable energy, authorized the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA) to “take the necessary me
