Turkey's EMS Electronics is manufacturing wind turbine generators for Germany's Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy - a step that would strengthen the latter's strong supply chain in Turkey.

The German renewable energy giant will use these locally produced wind turbine generators at its Yamaçtepe Wind Energy Project. The generators would bear a Domestic Goods Certification.

The first batch of the generators was made with the ceremony held at EMS Electronics' factory in Tuzla, Istanbul.

Siemens Gamesa, a major wind turbine supplier in the sector, has been operating in Turkey since 2010. The firm's operational and under construction facilities in the country have a total capacity of about 1 gigawatt (GW). The company intends to strengthen its cooperation with local suppliers and business partners to retain leadership in the fast-growing market.

Siemens Gamesa Turkey CEO Hakan Yıldırım said that the wind turbine generators produced by EMS Electronics have a locality rate over 55 percent.

"Wind turbine generators of this size and with a locality rate of 55 percent have been produced for the first time in Turkey," he said. "Something like this has been achieved for the first-time with Turkish engineering and, of course, the quality standards we brought as Siemens Gamesa. EMS today has the potential to supply generators for our wind turbines anywhere in the world."

Siemens Gamesa is working on a 1 GW Renewable Energy Resource Area (YEKA) project in Turkey. Its CEO said the generators produced in Turkey will also be used in the YEKA project. "These generators will be used in a 10-turbine power plant that we will establish before YEKA. We may use a bigger model for YEKA," Yıldırım said, adding that this achievement ahead of the YEKA project has increased their confidence significantly. Work on YEKA is scheduled to start within the next year and a half.

Meanwhile, EMS Electronics General Manager Hüsamettin Canbaz said they were looking to raise the locality rate from 55 percent to 70 percent. Siemens Gamesa is strengthening cooperation with its Turkish business partners and suppliers to meet the country's increasing renewable energy needs. With its turbine production and broad supplier network in Turkey, the company wants to supply modern and powerful wind turbines to the local market, as well as Europe. With the wind turbines manufactured and fully running, electricity can be supplied to 8,500 households annually.