Türkiye has doubled its solar energy capacity over the past two-and-a-half years to surpass its 2025 target ahead of schedule, signaling the nation’s potential for more ambitious future goals, a report said Tuesday.
By the end of 2024, Türkiye’s solar energy capacity exceeded 19 gigawatts (GW), doubling from 9.7 GW in July 2022, London-based energy think tank Ember said.
By August last year, the country had already surpassed the 18 GW target set for 2025 in the National Energy Plan (NEP) by the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources.
“Achieving this target one and a half years ahead of schedule underscores Türkiye’s strong commitment to solar energy and signals the need for more ambitious future targets,” Ember said.
The previous doubling of solar energy capacity required more than four years between 2018 and 2022, it noted.
The rapid expansion was driven primarily by self-consumption solar installations, which accounted for 94% of new projects since July 2022.
To advance the momentum, Ember said Türkiye could utilize rooftop, hybrid, floating and storage-integrated solar potential, which it says collectively represent a vast untapped potential.
Ember says Türkiye has a pipeline of 33 GW in pre-licensed storage-integrated solar and wind projects, far exceeding the official 2030 target of 2.1 GW. “With these capacities, the country is well-positioned to sustain its renewable energy growth trajectory,” the think tank says.
The Renewable Energy Resource Zone (YEKA) model remains pivotal to Türkiye’s solar and wind expansion.
The 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.
Under the YEKA scope, 3 GW of solar energy tenders have been conducted over eight years, resulting in 1.5 GW of capacity being commissioned, while 630 MW of projects were canceled.
The government unveiled updates to the YEKA model in 2024 to draw greater investor interest. Key enhancements include simplifying post-tender permitting procedures and introducing financial incentives like exemptions from transmission fees.
Furthermore, the planned 800 MW solar power plant tender for 2025 has increased the total capacity of the YEKA solar power plants project portfolio to 3.8 GW.
According to the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry’s Renewable Energy 2035 Road Map, Türkiye aims to conduct at least 2 GW of wind and solar tenders annually.
The Ember report also highlighted the potential for 53 GW of floating solar power plants, which could utilize underused water surfaces and significantly increase renewable capacity through YEKA auctions.
“With hybrid plants, YEKA projects and the 24 GW of self-consumption-focused solar power plants currently under development, solar energy capacity could increase two and a half times by the end of this decade, surpassing 55 GW,” it noted.
Battery storage also represents a growing opportunity, according to Ember.
By the end of 2024, Türkiye had granted pre-licenses for 14 GW of solar projects with integrated storage, pointing to the potential for enhanced energy security and grid stability.
That figure far exceeds the 2.1 GW storage capacity target set in the NEP for 2030.
Over the past two-and-a-half years, solar and wind energy have saved Türkiye $15 billion, which would have otherwise been paid for natural gas imports, Ember said.
“This underscores that raising renewable capacity targets not only strengthens Türkiye’s energy independence but also amplifies its economic benefits,” it added.
Solar energy alone accounted for 6% of the country’s electricity supply, generating 52 terawatt-hours (TWh) over the past two and a half years. “This avoided $5.4 billion in natural gas imports over the same period,” the report said.
Türkiye unveiled its National Energy Plan in 2023, establishing renewable energy and sustainability targets for 2025, 2030, and 2035.
However, during COP29 in November 2024, the Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change Ministry presented the Long-Term Climate Change Strategy (LTS) that included updates to 2030 and 2035 benchmarks.
The solar capacity target for 2035 was revised under the LTS to 77 GW, an ambitious 45% increase from the NEP’s initial goal of 53 GW.
Bahadır Sercan Gümüş, energy analyst at Ember, emphasized that the consistent growth in solar capacity demonstrates Türkiye’s potential for more ambitious renewable energy targets.
“By doubling its solar energy capacity in just two and a half years and surpassing its 2025 target ahead of schedule, Türkiye has demonstrated its potential to set more ambitious goals, Gümüş said.
“Raising renewable energy targets and maintaining the momentum offers Türkiye the opportunity to reduce its dependence on energy imports, strengthen energy security, and assert its commitment more prominently on the international stage.”
