Baku, January 28, AZERTAC

Türkiye doubled its solar power capacity to over 19 gigawatts in just two and a half years, beating its 2025 target by August 2024, Anadolu Agency reported.

This achievement came 1.5 years ahead of schedule, said London-based energy think tank Ember in a statement.

"Over the past two and a half years, electricity generation from wind and solar has helped avoid $15 billion in gas imports," the report said.

"In this period, solar alone supplied 6% of the country’s total electricity, avoiding $5.4 billion in gas imports," it added.

The publication highlighted that solar's remarkable growth has been primarily fueled by unlicensed self-consumption projects, driven by households and businesses.

Planned investments in diverse solar projects, including rooftop, storage-integrated, floating, and hybrid systems, known as solar-as-secondary-source, are expected to maintain this growth, the report noted.

The growth aligns with Türkiye's aim to raise its combined wind and solar energy capacity from 30 gigawatts to 120 gigawatts by 2035.

With 14.6 gigawatts of storage-integrated solar capacity pre-licensed as of 2024, Türkiye has already far surpassed its 2030 National Energy Plan target of just 2 gigawatts, according to the report.

Türkiye’s Renewable Energy Resource Zone (YEKA) initiative continues to expand capacity, with 5.9 gigawatts already allocated and a further 2 gigawatt tender planned for solar and wind in 2025.

Floating solar installations on water reservoirs, with an estimated potential of 53 gigawatts, are also under consideration to further optimize land and water use.

Despite significant progress in solar, wind energy growth has slowed, with only 770 megawatts added last year, bringing total wind capacity to 12.5 gigawatts, falling short of the Strategic Plan target.

However, the Long-Term Climate Change Strategy (LTS) introduced at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan sets ambitious 2035 targets of 77 gigawatts for solar and 43 gigawatts for wind, providing a clear roadmap for scaling up renewables, according to the think tank.

Updating Türkiye’s 2025 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to incorporate these targets would align renewable energy growth with both electricity demand and global climate goals.

Bahadir Sercan Gumus, Türkiye energy analyst at Ember, said the ongoing momentum in solar energy capacity growth is a strong indicator of the transition the country can achieve in its energy grid with the right policies.

"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," Gumus 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," he added.