The south can unlock Türkiye’s solar ambitions

This report by Ember analyzes Türkiye's electricity generation from clean sources at a province level from 2018 to 2022. It highlights the vulnerability of Türkiye's energy transition to droughts due to a heavy reliance on hydropower and argues that accelerating wind and solar deployment, particularly in underutilized southern provinces, is essential to reduce dependence on imported gas and meet clean energy targets.

• Türkiye's reliance on hydropower makes its energy transition vulnerable to droughts, as seen in 2021 when precipitation was the lowest in two decades and hydro generation fell from 56 TWh to 22 TWh. During these periods, Türkiye substitutes lost hydro power with expensive imported gas-fired electricity.
• There is a significant geographical mismatch between solar potential and actual generation in Türkiye. While Konya produced 21% of national solar generation in 2022, high-potential southern provinces like Antalya and Van produced only 3% and 2% respectively.
• The Karapınar Solar Power Plant in Konya is a primary driver of solar growth, accounting for 63% of the country's total licensed solar power generation in 2022. By 2023, it is expected to reach a total capacity of 1350 MW, making it the largest solar power plant in Europe.
• Regulatory changes in May 2021 and August 2022 regarding unlicensed solar projects—specifically removing the requirement for plants to be at the consumption point—led to a surge in capacity applications. Yearly unlicensed solar capacity applications rose from 1.2 GW in 2021 to 6 GW in 2022.
• Wind generation is heavily concentrated in western provinces, with İzmir leading the country. İzmir's wind power generation was 5.9 TWh in 2022, representing 17% of the national total. Between 2018 and 2022, İzmir, Çanakkale, and İstanbul accounted for 39% of national wind growth.
• The YEKA (Renewable Energy Resource Area) model for wind power has faced significant delays; none of the wind YEKA projects auctioned since 2017 had been completed as of the report date, with the first auction's construction not expected to begin until 2023.
• Türkiye's National Energy Plan targets 32.9 GW of solar and 18 GW of wind capacity by 2030. However, Ember analysis suggests that 40 GW of solar and 30 GW of wind are needed by 2030 to halve fossil fuel imports for electricity generation.
• Geothermal and biomass generation are highly concentrated. Three provinces (Aydın, Manisa, and Denizli) accounted for 98% of national geothermal electricity generation in 2022, while six provinces generated 48% of the national biomass electricity.

APA

Yıldırım, A. (2023). The south can unlock Türkiye’s solar ambitions. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/10/The-south-can-unlock-Turkiyes-solar-ambitions-1.pdf

Chicago

Yıldırım, Azem. The south can unlock Türkiye’s solar ambitions. Ember, 2023. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/10/The-south-can-unlock-Turkiyes-solar-ambitions-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Yıldırım |first1=Azem |title=The south can unlock Türkiye’s solar ambitions |publisher=Ember |date=5 April 2023 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/10/The-south-can-unlock-Turkiyes-solar-ambitions-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yldrm2023south, author = {Yıldırım, Azem}, title = {{The south can unlock Türkiye’s solar ambitions}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2023}, month = apr, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/10/The-south-can-unlock-Turkiyes-solar-ambitions-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }