$8.7 billion coal subsidy contradicts Türkiye's renewable goals

Türkiye has pledged a purchase guarantee of $75 USD/MWh for domestic coal power plants through 2030, an incentive estimated to cost at least $8.7 billion over four years. This subsidy is 12% higher than the average sales price of $67 USD/MWh and 36% above the average electricity generation cost of domestic coal ($55 USD/MWh). The report finds that solar energy is now the cheapest source of electricity in Türkiye, with a Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE) of $43 USD/MWh, representing a 69% decrease over the last decade. In contrast, a new domestic coal plant would have an LCOE of approximately $90 USD/MWh. The $8.7 billion coal subsidy is 53% higher than the ₺362 billion (approximately $5.7 billion) budget allocated by TEİAŞ for grid upgrades between 2024 and 2028. The report argues that achieving the 2035 target of 120 GW of total installed wind and solar capacity requires upgrading the grid and removing bureaucratic barriers to rooftop, floating, hybrid, and storage-integrated solar projects.

• Türkiye has committed to a purchase guarantee of $75 USD/MWh for 60% of the electricity generated by domestic coal power plants until 2030, which is estimated to cost at least $8.7 billion over four years.
• The $75 USD/MWh coal incentive is significantly higher than current market rates and production costs, sitting 12% above the average sales price of $67 USD/MWh and 36% above the average generation cost of $55 USD/MWh.
• Solar energy has become the cheapest electricity source in Türkiye, with installation costs falling by 77% and the Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE) dropping 69% over the last decade to $43 USD/MWh.
• New solar power plants are substantially more cost-effective than new coal plants; the LCOE of a new domestic coal plant is approximately $90 USD/MWh, which is more than double the $43 USD/MWh cost of a new solar plant.
• The financial support for coal is disproportionate to grid investment; the $8.7 billion coal subsidy is 53% higher than the $5.7 billion (₺362 billion) budget TEİAŞ has allocated for grid upgrades from 2024 to 2028.
• To reach the 2035 target of 120 GW of wind and solar capacity, Türkiye must address grid capacity limits and remove bureaucratic barriers to diverse solar applications, including rooftop, floating, hybrid, and storage-integrated projects.

APA

Çeliköz, Ç. (2025). $8.7 billion coal subsidy contradicts Türkiye's renewable goals. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/10/EN-8.7-billion-coal-subsidy-contradicts-Turkiyes-renewable-goals.pdf

Chicago

Çeliköz, Çağlar. $8.7 billion coal subsidy contradicts Türkiye's renewable goals. Ember, 2025. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/10/EN-8.7-billion-coal-subsidy-contradicts-Turkiyes-renewable-goals.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Çeliköz |first1=Çağlar |title=$8.7 billion coal subsidy contradicts Türkiye's renewable goals |publisher=Ember |date=21 October 2025 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/10/EN-8.7-billion-coal-subsidy-contradicts-Turkiyes-renewable-goals.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{elikz2025billion, author = {Çeliköz, Çağlar}, title = {{\$8.7 billion coal subsidy contradicts Türkiye's renewable goals}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2025}, month = oct, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/10/EN-8.7-billion-coal-subsidy-contradicts-Turkiyes-renewable-goals.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }