$8.7 billion coal subsidy contradicts Türkiye's renewable goals

This report by Ember analyzes the financial implications of Türkiye's decision to provide purchase guarantees for domestic coal power plants until 2030. It argues that the $8.7 billion allocated for these subsidies contradicts the country's renewable energy goals, as solar power has become the cheapest source of electricity generation in Türkiye. The report suggests that redirecting these funds toward grid modernization and removing bureaucratic barriers to diverse solar applications could help Türkiye achieve its 2035 target of 120 GW of installed wind and solar capacity.

• Türkiye has committed to a purchase guarantee of $75 USD/MWh for 60% of the electricity generated by domestic coal power plants until 2030. This incentive is 12% higher than the average sales price of $67 USD/MWh over the past year and 36% above the average electricity generation cost of domestic coal plants, which is $55 USD/MWh.
• The total cost of the purchase guarantee for domestic coal power plants over a four-year period is estimated at $8.7 billion. This amount is 53% higher than the ₺362 billion (approximately $5.7 billion) budget allocated by the Turkish Electricity Transmission Corporation (TEİAŞ) for grid upgrades between 2024 and 2028.
• Solar energy is now the cheapest source of electricity generation in Türkiye, with the Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE) for new solar plants falling 69% over the last decade to $43 USD/MWh. This is 21% cheaper than the average cost of existing domestic coal power plants ($55 USD/MWh) and 52% cheaper than a new domestic coal plant, which has an estimated LCOE of $90 USD/MWh.
• Recent YEKA tenders for wind and solar capacity in 2025 resulted in purchase guarantee prices that are less than half of the $75 USD/MWh provided to domestic coal. Additionally, winning companies paid a total contribution fee of $220 million to the state for 2 GW of auctioned capacity.
• To reach the 2035 target of 120 GW of total installed wind and solar capacity (including 76.9 GW of solar), Türkiye needs to install an average of 5.3 GW of solar each year. This goal requires upgrading the grid, as transmission limits were hit in September 2024 and distribution limits in July 2025 for unlicensed power plants.
• The report identifies several key areas to accelerate the energy transition: removing bureaucratic barriers to rooftop solar (which has a potential of 120 GW), floating solar, hybrid solar at dammed hydroelectric plants, and storage-integrated projects. Storage-integrated projects are noted as effective for maintaining grid frequency and voltage balance.

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} }