To meet the 2030 and 2050 energy targets, the amount of financing and investment required will need to reach $5 trillion annually by 2030, triple BAU's (Business as Usual) clean energy investment. Data centers worldwide currently consume around 1% to 1.5% of total electricity use (MEF, 2022), and the proliferation of AI technologies could significantly increase this proportion. This makes our planet's need for more affordable and zero-emission energy sources even more important.
For Turkiye, in particular, solar energy offers more than just a clean energy source; it is also an economic and strategic opportunity. Turkiye is currently experiencing a significant transformation with 11,000 MWe of solar capacity, providing more than 10% of its total electricity generation capacity. This capacity is reducing Turkiye's dependency on energy imports and taking important steps towards a clean future. Solar energy will continue to play a critical role in the country's sustainable development goals, enhancing both Turkiye's economic and environmental prosperity.
Enso Elektrik, established in 2014 in Turkiye, has 15 years of experience with hydroelectric and wind energy as viable renewable energy sources. Inspired by Fevzi Acar, the founder and CEO of the company, an electrical and electronics engineer with more than 23 years of experience in strategic planning and technical development, the company's core purpose is the sustainable and efficient use of solar energy in the global market. It is an innovative energy company that mainly offers the installation and running of solar power plants for the main grid. Enso Elektrik intends to propose sustainable solutions for the energy market by increasing the use and implementation of renewable energy sources. For this reason, it installs solar power plants, which guarantee a high efficiency in generating electricity and reduce a high amount of waste derived from the combustion of fossil fuels. It developed its engineering skills and know-how by successfully executing engineering services of solar power plants with an installed capacity of 1.850 MWe and EPC Services of approximately 200 MWe overall in Turkiye in the last decade, representing almost 18 % of the solar power generation capacity in Turkiye. Enso Elektrik has had the chance to work and collaborate with local and global companies and participate in many international fairs.
With this 23 years of experience, Enso Elektrik's founder, Fevzi Acar, began R&D activities in the Solar Energy sector, becoming a TÜBÄ°TAK (Turkish Scientific and Technological Research Council) consultancy firm for his sectors. In addition to these RD Network activities, with his sectoral needs and experience, he has made a Cyber Security Product and Cyber Security Software named ICS Sight for Critical Infrastructures. Enso Elektrik has a patent in the Solar Energy Sector for a Portable Solar system. (Design and Manufacturing of Smart Solar Energy System (SES) – Patent No: 2018/05494; Digital Mechanical Analysis of Carriers in Portable Solar Energy Systems; Detection of Partially Shaded Panels in Solar Power Plants; Increasing Efficiency Control and Scada Application within the scope of R&D activities.)
Fevzi Acar is one of those at the forefront, as the growing electricity needs of artificial intelligence (AI) and the world's expanding systems of data centers beckon new renewable energy solutions. Acar points to the historical moment when changes were ushering in renewable energy, making all the changes in the way the world consumes energy. 'Along with the more and more AI systems and infrastructures we will build, the demand for electricity will be artificially comparable with [the] demand to heavy industries at the end of last century with energy losses,' he says, adding that he's steering his company into the future in search of 'specially planned systems and projects that will minimize this huge loss. Acar's initiative appears timely. Gartner has forecast that AI could account for 3.5% of global electricity by 2030.
Not only that, but with solar energy growing rapidly as the lowest-cost new energy source in the US, as the Department of Energy said recently, Acar is also eyeing expansion into the US market. His strategy is to build new projects, not just for the growing AI sector, but as part of an effort to promote more 'near-zero-carbon' energy solutions in keeping with the goals of the DOE's Solar Energy Technologies Office's target for 2035. Acar has shown a proactive approach to dealing with the twin challenges of growing energy demand and sustainability.