Turkey Facilitates Solar For Irrigation Systems

• Türkiye's Environment Ministry has eased rules for small scale solar power systems for irrigation purposes
• These will be exempted from securing building and operating permits, provided such solar systems do not occupy more space than 125 m²
• Solar projects should be deployed on metal frames and not on concrete structures

The Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change in Türkiye (previously Turkey) has done away with the need to procure building and occupancy permits for solar energy systems to be installed for agricultural irrigation systems, but conditions apply.

The exemption has been made available for solar systems that do not occupy more than 125 m² space, provided these are built on metal frames without any concrete foundation. But these would need to solicit appropriate opinion of relevant agriculture and forestry departments.

Such systems can be allowed to come up in villages and non-residential areas without any licenses. However, these should not exceed the eaves boundaries and not alter the local architectural appearance.

It formalized the rule in the country's Official Gazette as Regulation on the Amendment of Unplanned Areas Zoning Regulation, in late-July 2022.

According to think tank Ember, wind and solar are already the cheapest forms of power generation in Turkey. The country's fossil fuel import bill was lowered by $7 billion between May 2021 and April 2022 thanks to wind and solar, and stands to save another $700 million per month if gas prices continue to remain elevated in the near future (see Wind & Solar Save Turkey $7 Billion In 12 Months).