Domestic coal is far from providing a baseload in Türkiye

The report finds that Türkiye's domestic coal power plants are incapable of providing baseload electricity, characterized by an average availability rate of 52% and significant annual production losses of 22 TWh due to malfunctions. Despite this poor performance, coal-fired generation reached a record 118 TWh in 2023, contributing 20% of the country's total carbon emissions. The analysis highlights that domestic lignite plants are particularly inefficient, with energy efficiency 15% below the EU average, and some wind farms now achieve higher capacity factors than these coal plants. The document argues that Türkiye lacks a coal phase-out strategy, with some licenses extending to 2069, and recommends transitioning to cheaper renewable energy to meet its 2053 net zero target and mitigate potential EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) costs.

• Coal-fired electricity generation in Türkiye reached a record high of 118 TWh in 2023, with coal accounting for 36% of the country's total electricity generation that year.
• Coal-fired power plants are responsible for 20% of Türkiye's total carbon emissions, with emissions from these plants growing at an annual rate of 6.2% between 2012 and 2023.
• Domestic coal plants fail to meet baseload requirements, with an average capacity factor of 48% over the last five years; some plants dropped as low as 16%. In contrast, some wind power plants have achieved higher capacity factors, such as the Yeniky Wind Plant in anakkale at 49%.
• The availability of domestic coal power plants is low, with an average rate of 52% over the last five years, meaning only 5.4 GW of the 10.4 GW installed capacity was effectively capable of generating electricity.
• Malfunctions in coal-fired plants cause an average annual production loss of 22 TWh. Domestic coal plants are particularly affected, with losses amounting to 31% of their total generation and experiencing 1,500 hours of downtime per TWh generated.
• Türkiye's lignite plants are inefficient due to the low calorific value of domestic coal; their energy efficiency is 15% below the EU average of 38%.
• Türkiye's current energy plans and license durations contradict its climate goals; the National Energy Plan anticipates coal capacity will exceed 24 GW by 2035, and some plant licenses extend until 2069.
• Failure to transition from coal could result in an annual cost of 2.5 billion Euros for Türkiye due to the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) starting in 2026.

APA

Gümüş, B. S. (2024). Domestic coal is far from providing a baseload in Türkiye. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/10/Domestic-coal-is-far-from-providing-a-baseload-in-Turkiye.pdf

Chicago

Gümüş, Bahadır Sercan. Domestic coal is far from providing a baseload in Türkiye. Ember, 2024. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/10/Domestic-coal-is-far-from-providing-a-baseload-in-Turkiye.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gümüş |first1=Bahadır Sercan |title=Domestic coal is far from providing a baseload in Türkiye |publisher=Ember |date=6 August 2024 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/10/Domestic-coal-is-far-from-providing-a-baseload-in-Turkiye.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gm2024domestic, author = {Gümüş, Bahadır Sercan}, title = {{Domestic coal is far from providing a baseload in Türkiye}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2024}, month = aug, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/10/Domestic-coal-is-far-from-providing-a-baseload-in-Turkiye.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }