Distributed solar and flexibility can ease Türkiye’s soaring cooling demands

Türkiye faces increasing electricity demand for cooling, which aligns temporally with peak solar generation. The report suggests leveraging over 120 GW of rooftop solar potential to reduce grid strain and recommends creating a comprehensive air conditioner database to improve demand forecasting. To ensure grid stability, the document advocates for grid-scale batteries, pumped-storage hydroelectric plants, and demand-side management to balance supply and demand.

• Solar energy is highly effective for meeting cooling-related electricity demand because its peak output coincides with the hottest hours of the day, typically between 12:00 PM and 4:00 PM. Between 2019 and 2024, the proportion of solar energy used to meet demand during these peak hours more than doubled.
• Türkiye possesses a rooftop solar potential exceeding 120 GW, which could be used to meet midday cooling demand on-site and reduce pressure on the electricity grid.
• A lack of up-to-date data on air conditioner stock, efficiency ratings, and regional distribution in the residential and service sectors hinders accurate demand forecasting and the development of effective energy efficiency policies.
• Grid stability and the balancing of supply and demand can be supported through grid-scale battery systems and pumped-storage hydroelectric plants, the latter of which can provide both hourly and seasonal storage to reduce reliance on fossil-fuel plants.
• Demand-side management and expanded efficiency policies are recommended to convert cooling loads into flexible resources and maintain grid equilibrium.

APA

Ember (2025). Distributed solar and flexibility can ease Türkiye’s soaring cooling demands. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/distributed-solar-and-flexibility-can-ease-turkiyes-soaring-cooling-demands/

Chicago

Ember. Distributed solar and flexibility can ease Türkiye’s soaring cooling demands. 2025. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/distributed-solar-and-flexibility-can-ease-turkiyes-soaring-cooling-demands/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Ember |title=Distributed solar and flexibility can ease Türkiye’s soaring cooling demands |date=21 August 2025 |url=https://ember-energy.org/chapter/distributed-solar-and-flexibility-can-ease-turkiyes-soaring-cooling-demands/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ember2025distributed, author = {{Ember}}, title = {{Distributed solar and flexibility can ease Türkiye’s soaring cooling demands}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2025}, month = aug, url = {https://ember-energy.org/chapter/distributed-solar-and-flexibility-can-ease-turkiyes-soaring-cooling-demands/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }