Turkey targets to expand its renewable energy capacity by almost 90 GW by 2030 under its new energy strategy
With an investment of over $80 billion, this will entail expansion to 120 GW by 2035
It will also launch renewable energy tenders under the YEKA scheme, targeting 2 GW annually
Turkey’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar said his country will target to grow its total installed solar and wind energy capacity to 120 GW by 2035, up from the 30 GW it has in operation now, under its new Energy Transition Renewable Energy Strategy 2035. This will need a minimum of 7.5 GW to 8.0 GW of annual installations.
This fourfold increase to 120 GW will require an investment of $80 billion. The ministry said this growth is essential to achieve energy independence, security of supply and net zero status by 2053.
As of September 2024, Turkey had installed 18.7 GW of solar, 12.4 GW of wind, and 32.2 GW of hydro power capacity, with renewable energy accounting for 59% of the national electricity mix. It has another 69.6 GW allocated as 43.5 GW of solar and 26.1 GW of wind power plants.
The ministry said it plans to encourage this capacity addition with competitive auctions for a minimum of 2 GW under the country’s Renewable Energy Resources Area (YEKA) scheme.
The ministry has also promised to shorten permitting timelines from 48 months to under 2 years, to accelerate the installation of renewable energy projects.
For 2024, it plans to launch tenders for 1.2 GW of wind and 800 MW of solar power plants. The 800 MW PV tender for 6 solar power plants will be launched on November 4, 2024.
“They will be given the opportunity to sell the electricity they produce to the system at free market prices for the first 60 months, and a base price of $4.95 cents/kWh will be applied for the free price during this period,” explained Bayraktar. “There will be a purchase guarantee at the tender price for the next 20 years and it will not be allowed to fall below the base price specified in the tender specifications. If there are investors who come to the base price in the competition, a separate competition will be held on the capacity fee. Thanks to the base price application, it will be easier to find financing.”
The government will also incentivize renewable energy equipment manufacturing, including for solar module production, starting from ingots. In 2014, the country had 9 main equipment producers and 18 sub-suppliers, which have grown to 150 and 350 in 2024, respectively.
Earlier in July 2024, Turkey announced plans to attract private investment in high technology industries, including solar PV manufacturing (see Turkey Announces $8,000 Grant Support/MW For Solar Cell Investments).
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