French EDF keen on hydro, renewable projects in Turkey

French energy giant EDF Group is "very interested" in the Turkish market and getting involved in hydro energy projects, as well as further developing its activities in renewables, said Simone Rossi, the group's senior executive vice president in charge of the international division. 

"Turkey has an important energy agenda highlighting the security and affordability of supply," Rossi told Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency on the sidelines of the World Energy Congress in Istanbul.        

"The possibility of rising demand, the size of the population, the growth of the economy and the desire of the country to become more independent in energy supplies keeps us interested in Turkey," Rossi said.  
     
Based in Paris and largely owned by the French state, EDF has operations in Europe, South America, North America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.        

"There is definitely more room for nuclear, renewable and hydro energy projects in Turkey. This will allow the country to become more independent and in control of its energy supply," Rossi said.    
  
EDF Energies Nouvelles, the group's renewable energy arm, holds a 45 percent stake in Turkey's Polat Enerji, one of the principal developers of Turkey's wind energy market. Polat Enerji has an installed gross capacity of 630 megawatts (MW) and 510 MW of net capacity in wind power, according to its website.     

EDF would like to invest more in renewables in Turkey as well as advance its existing operations, according to Rossi.  

The company has been looking into a number of hydro energy projects in the last few years and will invest when it finds the right opportunity, he added.        

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