Turkey produced 66% of its electricity from local and renewable resources in the first five months of 2020, the country's Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez said Wednesday.
"We continue to reap the fruits of our long-term investments," Dönmez wrote on Twitter, given that Turkey wants to fully utilize local and renewable energy resources efficiently to support its development and to reduce dependence on energy imports.
Last year Turkey's electricity production from local and renewable resources stood at 62%, he noted.
But on May 24, Turkey saw an all-time daily record as local and renewable resources accounted for 90% of the country's electricity generation, the minister added.
"The target is clear: Much more local, and much more renewables," Dönmez asserted.
The minister also detailed the share of each resource out of the 66% total: 34.3% was generated from hydroelectricity, 13.8% from local coal, 8.8% from wind, 3.6% from geothermal, 3.5% from solar, 1.8% from biomass and 0.2% from other sources.
On May 24, hydro plants constituted the largest portion at 43.7%, while local coal plants contributed 16.5% to electricity generation. Wind plants powered 14.5% and solar plants constituted 7.2%. Geothermal and biomass plants added 5.3% and 2.6%, respectively.
Dönmez recently said around 70% of Turkey's additional capacity in the last five years had come from domestic and renewable energy resources.
In just over a decade, Turkey has tripled its installed renewable capacity to around 45,000 megawatts and invested nearly $40 billion in renewable energy projects. Turkey ranks sixth in Europe and 13th in the world in terms of renewable capacity.
According to data from the International Energy Agency (IEA), Turkey's renewable energy capacity of 42 gigawatts (GW) is predicted to reach 63 GW by 2024, placing Turkey among Europe's top five and 11th worldwide in terms of renewable capacity.
