Sector News
Why has UK clean energy investment plummeted?
“It’s very clear there is a very substantial downward trend in new investment, which is across the board in terms of investment in clean technology ranging from big wind farms right down to the effective collapse of the solar market.”
Judging by the headlines, renewable energy in Britain is booming. Barely a week goes by without news that wind power has overtaken nuclear or the country has gone another successive day without coal.
Yet these figures obscure a reality in which the withdrawal of government support and confusion around future investments have led to a “dramatic and worrying collapse” in green investment.
Critics say the government has created a “hostile environment” for renewable energy that scares away potential investors and prevents the UK from reaching its full potential.
The arrival of the Climate Change Act in 2008 and the subsequent rollout of electricity market reforms saw the UK become a world leader in renewables, particularly wind power.
“We had a very clear policy framework from 2008 and that has been less certain in recent years,” says Emma Pinchbeck, executive director at trade association RenewableUK.
“That explains why we have had record-breaking deployment as things come online from that previous policy framework, but why now we are looking at a dropoff.”
There tends to be a lag of five to 10 years between a project being funded and it coming online, which is why we are only now experiencing the benefits of this early investment period.
Despite widespread popular support for renewables – 85 per cent, according to the latest figures – annual investment in clean energy is now at its lowest point in a decade.
This is not all bad, according to Phil MacDonald at climate change think tank Sandbag: “The dropoff in investment partly hides a good news story, which is that renewables have fallen in cost dramatically,” he says.
Improvements in wind and solar technology now mean the UK is getting more renewable energy for less money, but this does not account for the decline in its entirety.
“It’s clear there is a substantial downward trend in new investment, which is across the board in terms of investment in clean technology ranging from big wind farms right down to the effective collapse of the solar market,” says Dr Alan Whitehead, Labour’s shadow minister for energy and climate change.
In a report published this week by the Environmental Audit Committee, MPs warned this decline posed a real threat to the UK’s climate change targets for the next decade.
Committee chair Mary Creagh said this week: “Billions of pounds of investment is needed in clean energy, transport, heating and industry.
“But a dramatic fall in investment is threatening the government’s ability to meet legally binding climate change targets.”
This downward trend can be traced to decisions made by the government in 2015, particularly its withdrawal of support for onshore wind.
Under pressure from a group of MPs calling onshore wind “inefficient and intermittent”, the Conservatives made a manifesto pledge to remove subsidies from new onshore wind projects.
“It’s one of these issues that had a very niche political purpose, which was to assuage the concerns of some marginal consistencies in England, and to give the public more of a say over infrastructure in their neighbourhoods,” says Whitehead.
However, what was not clear at that time was that the cost of onshore wind was set to plummet, making it the cheapest form of electricity generation.
Unfortunately, the withdrawal of support and subsequent policy changes mean onshore wind is now essentially banned in the UK, with planning applications for new developments plummeting by 94 per cent since 2015.
At the same time, a 65 per cent cut to subsidies for households installing solar panels and a budget that declined to provide new support for renewables before 2025 led to new private investments falling off a cliff.
Richard Nourse, of renewable energy investors Greencoat Capital, says the sudden drop in investment in comparison to previous years is partly the result of a “last rush sale” in which onshore wind projects were hurried through in the lead up to these policy changes.
However, he adds that ultimately the collapse results from the lack of auctions for new large-scale renewable projects in the past couple of years.
“Those auctions are not being run, not so much because of solar but because of a visceral dislike of onshore wind,” he says.
Whitehead adds: “Cumulatively that was a real neon-lighted statement that the government was pulling the plug on what had previously been a reasonably smoothly operated regime of support to bring renewables to market.”
With a lack of certainty about support for new projects, experts say the government has effectively scared away any investment.
“If anything, the country is beginning to introduce a ‘hostile environment’ for green investment for the future,” says Whitehead.
Pinchbeck says: “This is a booming market, and the UK is currently the world leader for wind resource and development – but small decisions can often have really big consequences.”
“The onshore wind move was taken by many in the international community to mean the UK wasn’t actually committed to renewables development.”
This is a gap that other nations are happy to step into. Many onshore wind farms being built across Europe are now set to be so cheap they can be built without subsidies, and figures reported by the UN in April revealed China was by far the world’s largest investor in renewable energy.
The UK is currently still a world leader in renewables, with nearly 30 per cent of the country’s electricity in 2017 generated by clean sources.
Energy and clean growth minister Claire Perry said: “Our renewables sector is a British success story and will continue to thrive, with clean growth at the heart our modern Industrial Strategy.
“Over the last five years investment in renewables has more than doubled while we will have invested £2.5bn on low carbon innovation by 2021.”
However, as it stands the government’s clean growth strategy – intended as an “ambitious blueprint for Britain’s low-carbon future” – will not be enough to meet its legally binding carbon budgets.
Creagh said this week there was a need to “urgently plug this policy gap and publish its plan to secure the investment required to meet the UK’s climate change targets”.
Pinchbeck adds: “We’ll be at least 50 per cent renewable by 2030 – I suspect that’s actually on the conservative side – but a lot of what we will be able to do will depend on policy decisions that the government makes.”
“Will we maximise the potential of this very cheap energy resource or not?” (Kaynak: independent.co.uk)
Two experienced professionals in Türkiye’s wind energy sector are taking their long-standing relationship to the next level through a strategic collaboration. Alper Kalaycı, Co-Founder of EnconIQ Energy Consultancy Ltd., and Levent İshak, Co-Founder of Lewind Energy Consultancy Ltd., will collaborate to develop new projects and improve the performance of existing wind power plants.
Kalaycı and İshak, whose friendship dates back to their studies at Dokuz Eylül University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering in 1991, are carrying nearly 35 years of shared experience into this new partnership. Both have been actively involved in the wind energy sector since 1998 and aim to further leverage their accumulated expertise through this collaboration.
By combining their complementary capabilities, the two will work together on both the development of new investments and the enhancement of operational efficiency in existing wind power plants.
Türkiye’s targets provide momentum for the sector
Commenting on the collaboration, Alper Kalaycı highlighted Türkiye’s energy transition:
“In line with our country’s 2035 targets, we need to increase our current wind installed capacity by approximately three times. This clearly demonstrates the strong growth potential of our sector. In the coming period, significant opportunities are expected both in new investments and in local manufacturing. With this collaboration, we aim to make more effective use of these opportunities.”
Operation and maintenance play a critical role
Levent İshak emphasized the importance of the operational phase:
“One of the most significant cost components in wind energy projects is operation and maintenance. Structuring these processes correctly from the outset, designing contracts accordingly, properly identifying risks, and managing them effectively are of great importance. Ensuring that this structure is implemented correctly during operation is critical for long-term performance. With this collaboration, we aim to create value both in structuring long-term contracts for new projects and in improving the performance of existing power plants.”
Complementary expertise, shared vision
The collaboration brings together Alper Kalaycı’s experience in manufacturing, localization, and project development with Levent İshak’s expertise in turbine supply, maintenance, service, and operations, aiming to create a strong synergy within the sector.
ENERCON will supply wind turbine technology for another major project in Türkiye. For the “Balıkesir 1” wind farm in the northwest of the country, operator Polat Enerji has ordered 23 wind turbines of ENERCON’s new flagship model, the E-175 EP5 E2. The supply contract was signed on 27 April in Istanbul. With a total capacity of 161 MW, the wind farm is part of the YEKA 5 tender, for which Polat Enerji recently received the award from the Turkish Ministry of Energy.
“We have enjoyed a long-standing and close cooperation with Polat Enerji in the expansion of wind energy in Türkiye,” said Udo Bauer, CEO of ENERCON. “With ‘Balıkesir 1’, we will have jointly realised more than 1 gigawatt of installed capacity in Türkiye. We intend to continue this partnership for the energy transition together in the future. We are very pleased to implement the ‘Balıkesir 1’ project together using our new E-175 EP5 E2 turbine model.”
“Our journey began a quarter-century ago with an early and firm belief in Türkiye’s renewable energy potential,” said Evren Güvenç, CEO of Polat Enerji. “Today, Polat Enerji has evolved into a strategic player managing high-scale investments across Türkiye and Europe. The Balıkesir 1 project, secured through the YEKA tenders, is a testament to our continuous growth; for us, leadership is defined by more than just increasing installed capacity. We measure our progress not only by power output but by our optimisation capabilities and system flexibility. By leveraging our end-to-end expertise – from investment to operation – we are reinforcing our position as a pioneering actor shaping the transformation of the entire energy landscape.”
The E-175 EP5 E2 is ENERCON’s new top model. With a rated power of 7.0 MW and a rotor diameter of 175 metres, it is one of the most powerful onshore wind turbines in Europe in terms of energy yield. The E-175 EP5 E2 is also a central pillar of the company’s market strategy and forms the basis of the solution portfolio with which ENERCON supports its customers.
The supply agreement for the “Balıkesir 1” wind farm marks another milestone in the market launch of the E-175 EP5 E2 in Türkiye. The country is an important international strategic target market for ENERCON. To supply Turkish wind farm projects with the new E-175 EP5 E2, ENERCON will continue its proven localisation strategy with long-standing Turkish production partners and will also manufacture selected main components of the new top model in the country in the future.
“This allows us to meet the local content requirements of the Turkish tender system,” said Arif Günyar, Regional Head of the Central Asia / Middle East / Africa (CAMEA) region. “We are fully committed to the Turkish market and to the energy transition in Türkiye. We look forward to opening a new chapter of cooperation with Polat Enerji as well as with other Turkish customers and interested parties.”
Construction of the “Balıkesir 1” wind farm is scheduled to begin in September 2027, with commissioning expected by the end of December 2027. A total of 23 wind turbines will be installed on steel towers.
Gülle Entegre Tekstil İşletmeleri, one of Türkiye’s leading integrated yarn and fabric manufacturers with 55 years of experience, has signed a wind turbine supply and service agreement with Goldwind for the Gülle Wind Power Plant (WPP) Project. The project aims to meet the energy consumption of its production facilities located in Ergene, Tekirdağ.
According to the agreement, the project, located in the Ergene district of Tekirdağ, will utilize Goldwind’s GW155-4.8MW turbine model, featuring a hub height of 110 meters, a capacity of 4.8 MW, and a rotor diameter of 155 meters. The agreement also includes a 10-year full-service package covering maintenance and availability services.
The Gülle WPP Project is planned to be commissioned in December 2026. Upon completion, the plant is expected to reach an annual electricity generation capacity of approximately 16 million kWh.
Mature Capital has provided two-phase advisory services to Gülle Entegre Tekstil from the initial concept stage of the investment. In the first phase, project development, advisory services included the preparation of economic and technical feasibility studies in line with current investment conditions, as well as strategic and procedural guidance on regulatory and permitting processes (such as EPDK, EIA, zoning, and grid connection procedures).
In the second phase, once the project reached a certain level of maturity in terms of permits, Mature Capital provided advisory services for wind turbine selection, final supplier decision-making, and the negotiation of turbine supply and service agreements.
Habib Babacan, General Manager of Mature Capital
Commenting on the agreement, Habib Babacan, General Manager of Mature Capital, stated:
“We are very pleased to see the outcome of our efforts and work materialize with this important agreement, which marks the realization of our approximately three-year collaboration with our investor, Gülle Entegre Tekstil.
We would like to thank the Goldwind Türkiye team for their cooperation and support during the contract phase, and our investor Gülle Entegre Tekstil for their trust in Mature Capital. We wish the Gülle WPP Project to be beneficial for both parties.”
About Mature Capital
Since 2022, Mature Capital has been exclusively focused on the wind energy sector, providing advisory services to investors in the areas of business development, project development, strategy formulation, and project transfer (M&A) for wind power projects.
In its fourth year of operation, the company has continued to expand its activities and has successfully completed 18 advisory projects with 15 different investor groups since its establishment.
Mature Capital will continue to provide high-quality and reliable services to wind energy investors in Türkiye.
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