Renewables to produce half of electricity, says minister

ANKARA

Türkiye aims to increase the share of renewables in electricity generation to 50 percent in the next five years, according to Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar.

The solar and wind power installed capacity will increase 3.5 fold, the minister said.

Türkiye’s total installed capacity is expected to rise by 27 percent from the current 106,000 megawatts to 136,000 megawatts, Bayraktar told a group of journalists, commenting on the targets set out in the new development plan.

In the field of energy, the government’s new development plan, covering the period of 2024-28, priorities taking necessary step to ensure energy transition without compromising energy security, said the minister.

The country’s energy demand is forecast to climb by 15 percent to 190 million tons of oil equivalent in 2028, he added.

The wind and solar energy will play an important role in boosting the installed electricity capacity, said Bayraktar, noting that the Akkuyu Nuclear Power plant will become fully operational by then and help Türkiye meets its demand for electricity.

Investments in renewables will be crucial in achieving the net zero target by 2053, he added.

“We aim to create 3,500 megawatts of solar and 1,500 megawatts of wind power installed capacity every year.”

Another target under the road map is to make energy saving 4.5 million tons of oil equivalent by the end of 2028, he said.

“One of our priorities is to encourage energy saving in all sections of the economy. During the development plan period, we will focus on energy efficiency.”

According to the plan, the solar power installed capacity will increase to 30,000 megawatts in 2028 from 9,425 megawatts in 2022, while wind power installed capacity will rise to 18,000 megawatts from 11,396 megawatts.

Last year, coal accounted for 35 percent of electricity generation. The shares of natural gas and hydropower plants were 23 percent and 20 percent, respectively.

Wind and solar power accounted for another 10.6 percent and 5.1 percent, respectively.

The shares of hydropower plants, wind and solar rose to 29.9 percent, 11 percent and 10.3 percent, respectively as of end-September, according to data from the Energy Ministry.

There were 12,562 electricity power plants, including unlicensed plants, in Türkiye as of September, of which 763 hydropower, 68 coal-powered and 363 wind power plants.

The number of solar power plants stood at 10,479.