Solar energy emerged as Türkiye's most affordable way to produce electricity, as rapidly falling installation costs push it below all other power sources, according to a new research by London-based energy think tank Ember on Tuesday.
The installation cost of building solar power plants in Türkiye has fallen 77% in recent years, while wind project costs are down 40%, Ember said in a statement.
With those declines, the lifetime cost of producing electricity from solar has dropped 69%, making solar energy the country's cheapest source of electricity generation, it added.
A new solar plant in Türkiye now produces power for about $43 per megawatt-hour (MWh), Ember found. By comparison, the government's latest decision to grant $75/MWh price guarantees for domestic coal plants means coal power will cost 36% more than the average generation price over the past year.
Ember estimated that such coal incentives could cost Türkiye $8.7 billion over the next four years.
Redirecting that funding toward grid upgrades and easing barriers for new solar projects, the energy think tank said, could help the country reach its 2035 goal of 120 gigawatts (GW) of renewable capacity.
Ember Analyst Çağlar Çeliköz said Türkiye has made significant progress in solar energy, but "there is still a long way to go before the country can fully realise its potential."
