Nine bidders participated in Turkey's second wind power plant tender, according to the Daily Sabah. ENERCON GmbH and Turkish firm Enerjisa Enerji AS, which is equally owned by Sabanci Holding and E.ON SE, won the bidding with 500 MW of capacity each, according to Windpower Monthly.

This round of bidding was for four 250-MW plants in Aydın, Muğla, Balıkesir and Çanakkale. The initial ceiling price for the tender was set at $5.50 per kWh. ENERCON and Enerjisa, the winning bidders, will sign a 15-year contract with the energy ministry.

"The high interest proves the confidence in the Turkish economy and energy market," said Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez.

Turkey's first wind tender, in 2017, was for a 1,000-MW facility, with eight consortia participating. It created a reported investment volume of $1 billion.

Turkey, a net importer of energy, is trying to reduce its dependence on energy imports by developing its domestic renewable energy resources. According to the country's Investment Office, hydro at 27,456 MW and wind at 6,580 MW constitute the majority of the country's renewable resources. Turkey aims to increase its installed wind power capacity to 20,000 MW by 2023.

India is proposing $1.8 billion worth of transmission projects in the western states of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan, CleanTechnica reported. The Power Grid Corp. of India Ltd. proposal is intended to support 25.4 GW of wind and solar projects.

The states of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh will have sufficient transmission to support 28 gigawatts of solar and wind energy capacity by the end of 2021, according to the Power Grid Corp.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government aims to raise solar generation to 100 GW, wind to 60 GW, and biomass and hydropower to 15 GW by 2022. To support this renewable growth, the country plans to launch $1 billion of new transmission line tenders beginning in June, according to a Reuters report.

With Modi's reelection and his Bharatiya Janata Party expanding its majority, these targets are expected to remain in place. "I am sure that the consecutive stint of the ruling party will further bring in reforms in the sector. For the overall betterment of the sector, driving competition into the distribution sector is a key imperative with accelerated implementation of carriage and content in a time-bound manner," Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd. CEO Sanjay Banga told Mercom India.

Power developer Reykjavik Geothermal plans to invest $4.4 billion in geothermal power facilities that harness energy from volcanic activity in Ethiopia, Bloomberg News reported.

The Iceland-headquartered company, backed by hedge fund billionaire Paul Tudor Jones II, has been planning two 500-MW geothermal plants in Ethiopia since 2010. After reaching agreements with the Ethiopian government, Reykjavik Geothermal is now negotiating drilling contracts, according to the report.

The Ethiopian government aims to become a middle-income country by 2025, supporting its economic goals by meeting aggressive power generation and transmission targets, according to USAID.

As of 2016, roughly 43% of Ethiopians had access to the power grid, according to World Bank.

The African country has 4,206 MW of installed electric generation capacity, with 89% from hydroelectric resources.

"Our relationship with the government has always been very positive and the current government is very supportive," Reykjavik Geothermal COO Gunnar Orn Gunnarsson told Bloomberg. "They have shown, particularly over the last year, that they want this to happen and now we have cleared the pathway to go to exploration drilling."

Elsewhere

* Azerbaijan and the U.K. are exploring opportunities to build trade ties particularly on emerging renewable markets.

* Jordan plans to raise its renewable energy capacity to 2,400 MW by 2021, according to Utilities Middle East.

* Nigeria approved a $1 billion loan from Chinese EXIM bank to develop a 360-MW hydropower project, The North Africa Post reported.

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