An easy win for Turkey: leaving behind imported coal

This fact sheet by Ember argues that new wind and solar power installations in Turkey are now more cost-effective than operating existing coal power plants that rely on imports. The document highlights the rising cost of international hard coal and the declining cost of renewables, suggesting that Turkey can reduce its multi-billion dollar import bill and mitigate potential EU carbon border levies by transitioning to green energy.

• New wind and solar power generation in Turkey is now cheaper than running existing coal plants that rely on imports, even without considering carbon pricing. The Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) for wind is 40.8 USD/MWh and for solar is 51.9 USD/MWh, while the average marginal cost for imported coal power plants is 73 USD/MWh.
• Turkey's reliance on imported hard coal has grown significantly, with its share of power generation rising from 7% in 2010 to 21% in 2020. The country has 9 GW of installed capacity relying on imports, representing 45% of its total coal power capacity.
• The financial burden of coal imports is increasing due to skyrocketing international prices, which have doubled in less than four months and reached a decade high. If high capacities continue, the 2021 coal import bill could reach nearly 5 billion USD, with 3 billion USD estimated for power generation.
• Recent solar auctions in Turkey (April-May 2021) for 1 GW of capacity showed prices between 21.5-37.9 USD/MWh, with a weighted average of 25 USD/MWh. This is significantly lower than the projected 2024 marginal cost for even the most efficient imported coal plant (35.7 USD/MWh).
• Utility-scale solar investment in Turkey faces barriers, as 91% of total solar installed capacity as of May 2021 consists of prosumer projects. Obstacles include limited capacity at transformers for licensed solar power and the inability of large consumers to sign long-term power purchase agreements.
• Transitioning from imported coal to wind and solar could protect Turkey from an estimated economic loss of 2.7-3.6% of its GDP by 2030, which may result from a potential EU carbon border tax on indirect emissions.

APA

Ember (2021). An easy win for Turkey: leaving behind imported coal. https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/an-easy-win-for-turkey-leaving-behind-imported-coal

Chicago

Ember. An easy win for Turkey: leaving behind imported coal. 2021. https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/an-easy-win-for-turkey-leaving-behind-imported-coal.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Ember |title=An easy win for Turkey: leaving behind imported coal |date=28 September 2021 |url=https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/an-easy-win-for-turkey-leaving-behind-imported-coal |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ember2021easy, author = {{Ember}}, title = {{An easy win for Turkey: leaving behind imported coal}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2021}, month = sep, url = {https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/an-easy-win-for-turkey-leaving-behind-imported-coal}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }