Turkey’s Wind and Solar Share in Electricity Capacity Rose to 33%

While renewable energy investments in Turkey continue at full speed, the share of wind and solar energy in the country’s total installed electricity capacity reached 33% as of the end of March. This marks double‑digit growth compared to the same period last year.

According to data compiled from TEİAŞ (Turkish Electricity Transmission Corporation), Turkey’s total installed electricity capacity stood at 124,891 megawatts at the end of March. Rising population, increasing energy demand, and efforts to reduce the current account deficit driven by fossil fuel imports have brought wind and solar energy investments to the forefront.

Strong Growth in Wind and Solar Energy

Turkey’s solar energy installed capacity, which was 22,462 megawatts at the end of March last year, increased by 17.3% year‑on‑year to reach 26,339 megawatts this year.
During the same period, wind energy installed capacity rose by 14%, reaching 15,066 megawatts.

With this growth, the combined share of wind and solar energy in total installed capacity increased from 30% in March last year to 33% this year.

Renewable Installed Capacity Exceeds 77,000 Megawatts

In addition to wind and solar investments, capacity growth in hydroelectric, geothermal, and bioenergy sources pushed Turkey’s total renewable energy installed capacity to 77,601 megawatts.

As of the end of March:

• Hydroelectric: 32,304 megawatts
• Geothermal: 1,772 megawatts
• Bioenergy: 2,120 megawatts

The share of renewable sources in total installed electricity capacity increased from 60% last year to 62.1%.

Solar Energy Leads by Number of Power Plants

In terms of the number of plants, solar energy ranked first with 39,760 facilities nationwide. This was followed by 775 hydroelectric power plants, 407 wind power plants, 367 bioenergy plants, and 68 geothermal plants.

Experts expect the share of renewable energy sources in Turkey’s electricity generation to rise further and new records to be set as investments in renewable energy continue.

Source: AA