Turkey aims to increase its wind and solar energy capacity to 120,000 megawatts (MW) by 2035. This expansion will require $108 billion in public and private investments, according to Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar. The minister announced this plan at an event outlining Turkey’s renewable energy roadmap.
The Energy Ministry plans to announce the conditions for its first renewable energy resource area tender of the year next week. The ministry is also making regulatory changes to encourage more private sector participation in renewable energy investments. As part of this strategy, the focus will be on 34,000 MW of pre-license and permission applications for renewable energy plants that have not yet been developed into actual projects.
To improve the speed of investment processes, the ministry aims to reduce the permit acquisition time from four years to two years. This change is intended to accelerate the development of ongoing projects.
Out of the total $108 billion required, approximately $28 billion will be allocated for enhancing the transmission infrastructure. This includes building transformers and installing high-voltage transmission grids across Turkey.
While Turkey’s wind and solar energy capacity has grown significantly in recent years, investors have faced challenges due to lengthy permission processes and difficulties in securing financing. To address this, Turkey plans to hold a tender early next year for 2,000 MW of new wind and solar plants. A new scheme will provide a price floor and long-term electricity purchase guarantees to facilitate financing for these investments.
Since 2005, Turkey has been promoting private sector investments in renewable power plants to decrease its reliance on imported energy and reduce exposure to geopolitical risks. As of now, solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass power plants that began operating after 2005 have achieved an installed capacity of approximately 30,000 MW, accounting for 17.7% of the country’s total installed energy capacity.
Turkey’s electricity consumption has tripled over the past 20 years and is expected to grow even faster in the future due to the ongoing transition from fossil fuels to electricity as a primary energy source.
