Türkiye can expand solar by 120 GW through rooftops

This report by Ember analyzes the technical potential for rooftop solar expansion in Türkiye, estimating that the country could install at least 120 GW of capacity, which would meet 45% of its 2022 electricity consumption. The study identifies significant opportunities in residential and industrial sectors to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels and lower the fiscal burden of electricity subsidies.

• Türkiye possesses a technical rooftop solar potential of at least 120 GW, which is nearly ten times its current installed solar capacity. The provinces with the highest total potential are Istanbul (10.4 GW), Ankara (10.1 GW), and Izmir (9.3 GW).
• The potential electricity generation from 120 GW of rooftop solar could cover 45% of Türkiye's total electricity consumption as recorded in 2022, totaling an annual generation potential of 148 TWh.
• Expanding rooftop solar, particularly in the residential sector, could significantly reduce the government's fiscal burden. Residential electricity subsidies in Türkiye reached approximately $3.6 billion between September 2022 and August 2023.
• Rooftop solar installations offer a strategic pathway for Turkish industry to mitigate the financial impact of the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which begins imposing obligations in 2026 for sectors including cement, iron, steel, aluminum, fertilizer, electricity, and hydrogen.
• Significant bureaucratic hurdles exist for residential installations in Türkiye; a study by Solar3GW indicates that the process from application to installation takes 27 weeks, with only one week spent on actual installation.
• Global trends show that rooftop solar is increasingly dominant, with 118 GW (nearly half) of the 239 GW of new solar capacity added worldwide in 2022 being installed on rooftops.
• The report suggests that Türkiye could rapidly increase capacity by mandating solar installations on new buildings, noting that approximately 130,000 new building permits are issued annually, with further increases expected due to reconstruction in earthquake zones.

APA

Alparslan, U., & Yıldırım, A. (2023). Türkiye can expand solar by 120 GW through rooftops. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2023/12/Turkiye-can-expand-solar-by-120-GW-through-rooftops-1.pdf

Chicago

Alparslan, Ufuk, and Azem Yıldırım. Türkiye can expand solar by 120 GW through rooftops. Ember, 2023. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2023/12/Turkiye-can-expand-solar-by-120-GW-through-rooftops-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Alparslan |first1=Ufuk |last2=Yıldırım |first2=Azem |title=Türkiye can expand solar by 120 GW through rooftops |publisher=Ember |date=11 December 2023 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2023/12/Turkiye-can-expand-solar-by-120-GW-through-rooftops-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{alparslan2023trkiye, author = {Alparslan, Ufuk and Yıldırım, Azem}, title = {{Türkiye can expand solar by 120 GW through rooftops}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2023}, month = dec, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2023/12/Turkiye-can-expand-solar-by-120-GW-through-rooftops-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }