The Turkish Energy Minister, Berat Albayrak, stated that Turkey plans to solicit bids for renewable energy plants potentially worth at least $1b in investments, during November or December , with bidding opened to local and foreign investors, reported Reuters.

A portion of the funds will be used for a 1,000MW connection in the first phase of the construction of a 1.5MW solar power plant, which will be located in Konya’s Karapınar district, according to Daily Sabah.

The project, which comes under Turkey’s Renewable Energy Resource Areas (YEKA), will include production facilities, transmission lines and other expenses, while the additional 500MW connection will be bid on at a later date.

Projects for sustainable energy, conducted within the framework of YEKA are expected to benefit fifth-area investment incentives, companies with the highest rate of domestic transfer of technology and production will be given priority.

In related power news, Egypt Oil&Gas had reported that the Turkish energy company Unit International had reached a $4.2b deal with the Iranian Energy Ministry to build seven natural gas power plants in Iran, in what it said was the biggest investment in Iran since the lifting of sanctions.