Turkey plans 89 GW of new solar, wind power by 2035

Turkey launched an energy transformation roadmap worth USD 108 billion. The government aims to quadruple wind and solar power capacity to 120 GW by 2035. There are new rules for the upcoming round of YEKA auctions including a 20-year fixed price.

Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar said Turkey is facilitating an investment cycle of USD 80 billion by 2035 in renewable energy production. Together with the development of the transmission network, including for nuclear power, the figure reaches USD 108 billion.

The ministry estimates gross electricity consumption will amount to 510.5 TWh in 2035, compared to 335.2 TWh last year. The idea behind the new energy transformation roadmap is to pave the way for Turkey to become a net power exporter in 30 years.

Government hikes 2035 target by 20 GW

Turkey had 12.4 GW in wind power installed in September, together with 18.7 GW in photovoltaics, Bayraktar said at the presentation. He revealed that the goal for 2035 is almost four times higher, at 120 GW in total. It includes 5 GW of offshore wind power.

The government boosted the target by a stunning 20 GW. Data from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) show that all other Southeastern Europe including Cyprus had an overall 15 GW in solar power and 11.3 GW of wind. Greece accounted for 7 GW and 5.2 GW, respectively.

Just since then, wind power capacity in Turkey grew by 1.1 GW and solar systems surged by 7 GW!

The country’s total renewable electricity fleet, according to the last update, is at 67.4 GW or 59% of the entire capacity. The biggest item is hydropower, 32.2 GW.

Almost half of capacity of projects under development include energy storage

Projects are underway for solar power plants with a total capacity of 43.5 GW and 26.1 GW in wind farms, the ministry said. Breaking down the total 69.6 GW, it added that facilities of 33.9 GW overall would be combined with energy storage units.

There is 23.5 GW in the so-called unlicensed segment – for self-consumption, while 3 GW has been allocated through auctions. The remaining 9.2 GW is through other kinds of permits.

Bayraktar: Permitting is getting slashed to two years or less

Bayraktar laid out the changes to rules for wind and solar power auctions, but also for permitting for power plant projects. His ambition is to at least halve the time to process requests from the current four years. The presented measures include the possibility of urgent expropriation.

One of the novelties in the auctions is a minimum guaranteed price in the initial period for the winners. Namely, operators of wind parks and solar farms would sell their electricity in the open market for the first six and five years, respectively.

The next round of YEKA auctions is for 1.2 GW in wind power capacity and 800 MW in photovoltaics

The ministry is planning to hold the next wind power auction under the Renewable Energy Resources Area (YEKA) scheme, for 1.2 GW, on January 28, followed by one on February 4 for photovoltaic projects with a quota of 800 MW. The details and deadlines are due at the beginning of next week and on November 4, respectively.

More importantly, the fixed price guarantee is planned to be doubled to 20 years. The new model for the one-sided contract for difference (CfD) is exceptionally significant for financing. Moreover, it would include an exemption from the transmission fee and a price based on a foreign exchange rate formula.

Turkey has formidable manufacturing base for green energy transition

Turkey is maintaining the requirement for a high share of locally produced equipment and workforce participation. The ministry said there are 150 equipment producers and 350 suppliers in the country, employing 50,000 people.

They make generators, turbines and power electronics for biomass, hydropower and biomass units, as well as wind turbines, towers and blades. Solar module production involves everything starting from ingots.

Import transmission capacity needs to be five times stronger

“We need to increase the interconnection capacity with neighbors by three to four times,” Bayraktar stressed. High-voltage direct current (HVDC) lines of 14,700 kilometers will be installed by 2035, he said.

The ministry specified that the power line length is planned for a 26.6% expansion to 95,500 kilometers. The system would have 942 switchyards, compared to the current 798 facilities. Interconnection capacity for exports is envisaged to grow threefold to 6.75 GW in 11 years while the import segment is seen five times stronger than now, at 6.6 GW, according to the roadmap.

State-owned energy companies require modern setup before privatization

Turkey is reforming the energy market, and institutions will undergo a makeover, too, the minister announced. “Let’s not start a privatization story right away,” he said of state-owned Turkish Electricity Transmission Corp. – TEİAŞ, Petroleum Pipeline Corp. – BOTAŞ, oil company TPAO, mining and chemicals enterprise Eti Maden and Electricity Generation Corp. – EÜAŞ.

“We need to take these companies out of the classical public management logic,” Bayraktar pointed out, arguing they need a modern approach.

Earlier, he expressed the ambition to introduce carbon emissions trading by 2026 at the Energy Exchange Istanbul (EXIST or, in Turkish, EPİAŞ) as well as commodity trading.

Hydrocarbon production continuing strong rise

The production of oil in the Gabar area is now at 51,000 barrels per day, Bayraktar said. The target is 100,000 barrels, in his words. The Sakarya offshore gas field on the Black Sea is at 7.2 million cubic meters per day and it will grow to 9.1 million by the first quarter of 2025, the minister asserted.

At the renewables roadmap event, Bayraktar also said public and private investments in energy efficiency in the period 2024-2030 would reach USD 20 billion.