Türkiye recorded around $300 million in wind energy investments in the first quarter of 2026, with the pace of installations expected to accelerate through the rest of the year, a top industry official said on Friday.
Wind power capacity expanded by more than 300 megawatts (MW) in the January-March period, corresponding to investments of roughly $300 million-$350 million, said Ibrahim Erden, head of the Turkish Wind Energy Association (TÜREB).
"Last year, investments exceeded $2 billion. This year, another $300 million-$350 million worth of investment was realized in the first quarter alone," Erden told Anadolu Agency (AA).
Türkiye was the second-largest installer of new wind power capacity in Europe last year, adding more than 2 gigawatts (GW).
Erden said the sector expects installations to surpass last year's level in 2026, with annual additions projected to potentially reach 2.5 GW, implying total yearly investments of around $2.5 billion.
Construction and installation activity typically accelerates in the summer months due to more favorable weather conditions.
Renewable energy investments have become a central pillar of Türkiye's strategy to reduce its structural dependence on imported fossil fuels and lower its energy import bill, which amounted to about $62 billion last year.
Türkiye's total installed electricity capacity reached 122.5 GW as of the end of 2025, with 62% of it consisting of renewable energy sources, SHURA Energy Transition Center said on Friday.
Almost all of the 7 GW of new installed electricity capacity commissioned last year came from renewable energy sources, the center said. Installed capacity in solar and wind energy reached 40 GW.
According to TÜREB estimates, every 1,000 MW of new wind capacity helps avoid around $250 million in natural gas imports.
"With the scale of investments we are making, we continue each year to reduce dependence on imported natural gas and coal," Erden said.
"Just with last year's installations, we effectively prevented more than $500 million in natural gas imports."
The industry expects annual wind installations to rise to 4-5 GW by 2028-2029, according to Erden.
"Our sector is ready to deliver 7 GW annually if the necessary financing framework and investment conditions are put in place, together with manufacturers, developers and international investors," he said.
Erden also highlighted the importance of Renewable Energy Resource Zone (YEKA) tenders, which are expected to remain a key mechanism for expanding wind investments.
The YEKA scheme was introduced in 2016 to facilitate land allocation for investors, ease the deployment of large projects and encourage the domestic production of renewable energy technologies.
The government later unveiled updates to the model to draw greater investor interest. Key enhancements included simplifying post-tender permitting procedures and introducing financial incentives like exemptions from transmission fees.
