Türkiye can bypass grid constraints with hybrid solar power plants

This report by Ember analyses how hybrid solar power plants—which share transmission lines with existing wind and hydroelectric facilities—can overcome grid connection constraints in Türkiye. It estimates a baseline potential of 8 GW of hybrid solar capacity, which could increase Türkiye's total solar capacity to 30 GW, making it the country's largest energy source by installed capacity.

• Grid connection constraints are significantly hindering renewable energy growth in Türkiye. Between February 2024 and April 2025, 65% of unlicensed solar power plant applications at the transmission level were rejected. As of May 2025, only 0.52 GW of capacity remains available for distribution-level connections, and no new transmission-level capacity has been announced since September 2024.
• Hybrid solar power plants provide a viable solution to grid bottlenecks because they use existing transmission lines and do not require new grid investments. In 2024, 25 existing hybrid plants increased the electricity delivered to the grid by an average of 14%, raising the average connection capacity factor to 32%.
• Türkiye has a baseline hybrid solar potential of 8 GW at privately owned wind and hydroelectric sites under current economic conditions. If realized, this would bring total solar capacity to 30 GW. In more optimistic economic scenarios—such as a 4% interest rate instead of 9%—this potential could rise to 25.6 GW.
• Dammed hydroelectric power plants represent the largest portion of hybrid solar potential, accounting for 46% (3.6 GW) of the 8 GW baseline. This is attributed to high solar potential in the Mediterranean and Eastern Anatolia regions. Hybrid solar is specifically highlighted as a tool to mitigate generation losses caused by climate-change-induced drought.
• The report identifies several regulatory barriers slowing hybrid solar adoption, including a capacity cap (currently 100 MW for most plants) and a site adjacency restriction that requires hybrid projects to be physically integrated within the primary plant's site, which often conflicts with agricultural or forest land restrictions.
• To accelerate the energy transition, the report recommends removing the capacity cap, eliminating the site adjacency requirement (provided the plant connects to the same transformer station), and establishing clear numerical targets and improved data transparency for hybrid plants.

APA

Çeliköz, Ç. (2025). Türkiye can bypass grid constraints with hybrid solar power plants. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/06/EN-Turkiye-can-bypass-grid-constraints-with-hybrid-solar-power-plants-1.pdf

Chicago

Çeliköz, Çağlar. Türkiye can bypass grid constraints with hybrid solar power plants. Ember, 2025. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/06/EN-Turkiye-can-bypass-grid-constraints-with-hybrid-solar-power-plants-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Çeliköz |first1=Çağlar |title=Türkiye can bypass grid constraints with hybrid solar power plants |publisher=Ember |date=18 June 2025 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/06/EN-Turkiye-can-bypass-grid-constraints-with-hybrid-solar-power-plants-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{elikz2025trkiye, author = {Çeliköz, Çağlar}, title = {{Türkiye can bypass grid constraints with hybrid solar power plants}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2025}, month = jun, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/06/EN-Turkiye-can-bypass-grid-constraints-with-hybrid-solar-power-plants-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }