Review of Turkey’s photovoltaic energy status: Legal structure, existing installed power and comparative analysis

Energy is defined as the ability to do work and can be converted through variety of processes and used in various applications. Primary energy sources such as petroleum, natural gas, coal, wood, solar etc. can be directly used without being converted to another type of energy. Secondary energy sources, of which electricity and fuel oil are typical examples, are form of energies that are transformed from primary energy sources and are more expensive because of the conversion process and the losses associated. Starting especially with the industrial revolution, meeting the energy demand has been one of the most important concerns of countries. Starting from 1970’s, enforced in particular by the energy crisis, humankind have turned to renewable energy since the production of petroleum, which was the main energy source then, faced an unprecedented shortage and thus increased prices. As one of the main renewable energy sources, solar energy has made a rapid progress in the past decades, with variety of technologies, such as photovoltaics, thermal converters, passive architectural systems and so on. Photovoltaics, which convert solar energy directly into electrical energy, presently play an important role in energy policies of countries.