Turkey is preparing a comprehensive new energy infrastructure framework, the New Energy Architecture for 2040, with widespread electrification as its central pillar, according to Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar.
Speaking at the launch meeting of the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Turkey Energy Policies Review Report, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar said the country was revising its National Energy Plan.
The expanded framework is scheduled for public release in late October or early November, ahead of the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Turkey, he added, according to the ministry.
Bayraktar: We will electrify Turkey
Placing electrification at the core of the new energy infrastructure, Bayraktar underscored the government’s commitment to transforming the national power landscape across all sectors.
“If you asked me what the new energy architecture is about, I would say, in a single word: electrification,” Bayraktar said. “We will electrify Turkey. We will increase electrification significantly,” he stressed.
Talking about key sectors covered by the electrification drive, the minister noted that the electrification rate in transportation currently stands at just 0.5%. The target is to have 8 to 10 million electric vehicles on Turkish roads by 2035, significantly shifting the national vehicle fleet toward electric mobility, he stressed.
He added that a 19–20% surge in electricity demand last year was driven solely by cooling needs, an upward trend that is expected to continue.
Several important components
Beyond electrification, Bayraktar highlighted several important components of the New Energy Architecture for 2040.
Turkey plans to leverage its vast renewable potential by setting higher targets, which will be unveiled by the Turkish president at COP31.
A major structural reform program to modernize five major state enterprises
The country also plans to adopt a third national energy efficiency action plan for the post-2030 period. It will build on the second such plan, covering 2024–2030, which has yielded results in industry, transportation, agriculture, and buildings, the ministry explained.
The 2040 framework also includes a major structural reform program to modernize five major state enterprises.
“We have incorporated a restructuring program into the new energy architecture with the goal of transforming five of our important state enterprises – Türkiye Petrolleri, BOTAŞ, TEİAŞ, EÜAŞ, and Eti Maden – into national champions,” Bayraktar explained.
