Southern provinces may unleash solar potential: Report

ISTANBUL

Solar potential in southern provinces is key to achieving steady renewable electricity growth, says a report by London-based energy think-tank Ember.

As the hydro-rich eastern Türkiye reeled from two droughts in five years, a surge in wind and solar helped cushion the blow, it said.

Volatility from droughts is a significant risk in Türkiye, which relies on hydro as the main source of renewable electricity, the report said. “Hydro generation dropped by 10 TWh (-39 percent) in the key provinces of Şanlıurfa, Elazığ and Diyarbakır from 2020 to 2021.”

Türkiye relies on expensive imported gas to make up for hydro deficits, it added, stressing that accelerated wind and solar deployment would end this risky dependence.

In 2022, half of the renewable electricity generation in Türkiye was hydroelectricity concentrated mainly in the east, according to the study.

“However, non-hydro sources deployed mostly in central and western provinces accounted for 79 percent of the increase in clean electricity generation between 2018-2022.”

“Türkiye’s progress on wind and solar over the past five years has been remarkable. However, there is a mismatch between potential and actual solar generation.”

Ten provinces accounted for over half of solar generation in 2022, with Konya producing the lion’s share (21 percent). Meanwhile, the shares of high-potential provinces such as Antalya and Van are only 3 percent and 2 percent respectively.

Türkiye will need to incentivize solar in its underutilized southern and southeastern provinces to reach its goal of 3-4 GW of added solar capacity per year, said the report.

The focus of renewable energy in Türkiye is shifting from the hydro-rich east to the west where wind and solar are prevalent, according to Azem Yıldırım, Türkiye analyst at Ember.

“Türkiye needs to utilize its sunny southern provinces more efficiently to realize its electricity transition,” Yıldırım said.