The winners from the latest round of wind and solar power auctions under Turkey’s YEKA support mechanism will have EUR 35 per MWh and EUR 32.5 per MWh guaranteed, respectively. The government awarded a combined 2.3 GW in capacity at the two floor prices. To get the projects, participants that remained in the bidding after the lowest possible price was achieved, competed by offering to pay for the right to sign the contract. There were no applications for three solar power zones, totaling 115 MW.
The Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources of Turkey obtained EUR 113.4 million upfront from its annual round of wind and solar power auctions under its Renewable Energy Zones (REZ) mechanism. It is better known by its Turkish acronym YEKA. It awarded 1.5 GW of wind power and 785 MW for photovoltaics, in grid connection terms.
The winners can sell electricity on the free market for six years in the case of wind power, while the period lasts five years for PV plants. But both kinds are also getting one-way contracts for difference (CfDs): at least EUR 47.5 per MWh guaranteed.
After that, they enter a 20-year scheme with the auction strike price, under a power purchase agreement (PPA).
The floor prices were EUR 32.5 per MWh for solar power and EUR 35 per MWh for wind, and the entire capacity went for the two amounts. Participants bid until a floor price per megawatt-hour is reached. In case of a tie, they compete by committing a so-called contribution fee, starting at EUR 10,000 per MW. YEKA auctions are livestreamed.
Minister Alparslan Bayraktar noted that the 2.29 GW in total is for 18 predetermined sites. He estimated the investments at USD 1.9 billion, resulting in 6.1 TWh of annual output. It is equivalent to 1.22 billion cubic meters of imported natural gas, Bayraktar pointed out.
Turkey is planning to initiate its first-ever offshore wind power auctions in the first quarter of next year.
Highest contribution fee in solar power segment was EUR 91,000 per MW
Nineteen companies submitted 44 applications for the REZ SPP 2026 (YEKA GES 2026) annual solar power tenders. The commission awarded 11 zones of 785 MW overall. Notably, there were no applications for three sites: Malatya 2 (40 MW), Mardin 1 (30 MW) and Kahramanmaraş 1 (45 MW).
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar said the investments from the awarded projects would reach USD 1.9 billion
Contribution fees totaled EUR 31.6 million, or EUR 37.9 million including value-added tax.
The highest was EUR 91,000 per MW excluding VAT, for the Malatya 1 area of 55 MW. The winning firm is called Ezel Mensucat Sanayi. İklim Invest Enerji is paying only EUR 12,000 per MW for the 30 MW zone Ankara 2.
Annual output from awarded wind power capacity estimated at 4.6 TWh
In the wind power segment, 12 companies sent 29 applications. The REZ WPP 2026 (YEKA RES 2026) auctions amounted to 1.5 GW for seven zones in Sivas, Balıkesir, Manisa and Kütahya.
Bayraktar estimated annual production at 4.6 TWh, equivalent to the needs of two million households. He said the wind farms would prevent EUR 852 million worth of gas imports per year.
The winners are paying EUR 62.9 million or EUR 75.5 million including VAT.
The contribution fee for Balikesir 4, of 140 MW, was the highest. The whopping EUR 154,000 per MW was almost as high as all the rest combined. The winner is Fe Girişim Enerji.
Conversely, Egesa Elektrik got the Balikesir 4 area, 235 MW, without competition and thus without a contribution fee.
