Photo: Senivpetro on Freepik
Turkey exceeded its 2025 solar power target of 19 GW by last August, Ember said in a new report. Total capacity, now nearing 20 GW, doubled in just two and a half years.
Solar power systems primarily for self-consumption and mainly for households and businesses in Turkey have driven 94% of growth in the segment since July 2022, think tank Ember said in its latest country report. In the same period, operational capacity doubled to 19.6 GW, while the 19 GW target for end-2025 was reached last August.
The previous doubling of solar energy capacity required more than four years.
Notably, the Karapınar solar park in Konya province in Asia Minor, with 1.3 GW in peak capacity, is larger than any facility of its kind in Europe. It was commissioned in 2023.
Self-consumption-focused PV projects reach 24 GW
The shift to renewables is helping Turkey to reduce import dependency and bolster economic resilience, the update reads. Over the past two and a half years, wind and solar power accounted for an equivalent USD 15 billion in gas imports. In the same period, solar alone supplied 6% of the country’s total electricity, which is USD 5.4 billion in foreign fossil gas.
Planned PV investments in the rooftop, storage-integrated, floating and hybrid facilities are set to sustain the momentum. Turkey recently declared a 2035 target for solar and wind of 120 GW in total.
Photovoltaic units that are the secondary source in hybrid power plants account for 1 GW
As of the end of last year, 14.6 GW of storage-integrated solar capacity was pre-licensed, compared to the 2030 National Energy Plan target of 2 GW. There was 1 GW in photovoltaics installed as a secondary source in hybrid power plants, and another 3.5 GW was licensed and in development in the segment.
Pre-licences were issued for 14 GW within 412 solar power projects with storage. With hybrid plants, auctions and the 24 GW of self-consumption-focused solar power plants currently under development, solar energy capacity could increase two and a half times by the end of the decade, surpassing 55 GW, the report reads.
Turkey’s YEKA solar power auction call for 800 MW draws applications from 67 firms
In other news, under the government’s auction mechanism called Renewable Energy Zones (REZ), better known by its Turkish acronym YEKA, applications have just been received for 800 MW in total connection capacity. The Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources earlier said the bidding would be held on February 4.
The winners at the auctions get grid connections for 49 years, a minimum price during the initial, five-year open market sale period and a guaranteed price for another 20 years.
Under the REZ SPP-2024 – YEKA GES-2024 solar power round, investors are competing for six areas or projects. Judging by the overall response, the competition could be even fiercer than in the wind power auctions held today. The ministry received 146 applications from 67 companies.
On the other hand, only nine initial bids came for the biggest project, also in Karapınar, seen for 385 MW. Karaman, the second in size, at 200 MW, is pursued by 23 firms.
The government so far held auctions for 7.05 GW through the YEKA wind and solar power scheme. Tenders for photovoltaics (excluding the current call) were held for 3 GW. In the meantime, 1.5 GW was commissioned in the solar power segment, while projects for 630 MW in total were canceled, the report adds. The rest is under development.
Only 301 MW of wind power was commissioned by the end of 2024 from the capacity awarded in the three auction rounds held before the one today.
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