Installed solar power capacity up 30 pct to exceed 20,000 MW

ISTANBUL

Türkiye's installed solar power capacity surpassed 20,000 megawatts (MW), reaching 20,398 MW as of Feb. 16 — a 39.3 percent increase from the same period last year, according to data from the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry.

During the same period, Türkiye's total electricity installed capacity was recorded as 116,587 MW.

With the commissioning of rooftop, field and hybrid power plants, the solar energy installed capacity surpassed 20,398 MW.

Solar power plants, which make up the second largest capacity within renewable energy sources after hydroelectric plants, now account for 17.5 percent of the total installed capacity, data compiled by state-run Anadolu Agency showed.

This figure was 13.8 percent on February 16 of last year.

Türkiye plans to raise its solar and wind energy installed capacity to 120,000 MW by 2035.

Achieving this target requires installing 4,000–5,000 MW of solar capacity annually, along with additional capacity increases.

Recent data showed that the country’s total installed power reached 13,043 megawatts as of mid-February.

Wind energy is generated from around 280 operational plants and more than 4,360 turbines in the country’s seven regions.

Currently, electricity production from solar energy costs 50 percent less than electricity produced from coal and natural gas.

Despite its lower cost, the main challenge of solar energy is that electricity production stops without sunlight.

Starting in 2026, the commissioning of storage-based solar power plants will allow continuity in electricity generation from solar energy.

Additionally, there are three experimental agricultural solar energy projects in the solar energy sector.

There are 75 photovoltaic panel manufacturers in Türkiye with an annual production capacity of approximately 44.5 gigawatts.

Currently, three of these solar panel manufacturers produce 6.1 GW of solar cells domestically per year.

In the last 22 years, Türkiye’s energy demand has tripled.

According to official estimates, electricity consumption is expected to reach 380.2 TWh in 2025 and 455.3 TWh in 2030. The demand is forecast to increase to 510.5 TWh in 2035.