Renewable energy in Turkey

Solar power Wind power Hydroelectricity Geothermal energy Bioenergy == Hybrid projects, storage and integration ==

Solar is often added to existing power plants, such as geothermal, hydro, and wind. A solar and biomass hybrid is also feasible. Up to 15% of the existing installed capacity can be added without requiring a new licence, provided generation does not exceed that limit, although the extra capacity cannot receive a USD subsidy. There is a virtual power plant which operates with geothermal, wind, solar and hydro. Combining wind and/or solar with storage is also popular. Increasing Turkey's proportion of electric cars in use to 10% by 2030 would help integrate variable electricity. Transmission and distribution cables are at medium risk from earthquakes and transformers at high risk whereas solar is low risk: Think tank Shura suggests that microgrids of solar and batteries could increase resilience against earthquakes. ==Future==

Wind, and especially solar, could supply much more energy in Turkey. It is estimated that over half of electricity generation could be from renewables by 2026, but Turkey has invested less in solar and wind power than similar Mediterranean countries. More renewable energy could be used to reduce the nation's greenhouse gas emissions, and thus avoid paying other countries' carbon tariffs. Turkey is a net exporter of wind power equipment, but a net importer of solar power equipment. Total non-hydro renewables overtook hydro in 2021. Solar is expected to overtake wind before 2030. The Energy Minister said in 2023 that by 2035 renewables would supply almost a quarter of the nation’s energy. According to one study, by massively increasing solar power in the south and wind power in the west the country's entire electricity demand could be met from renewable sources. A 2022 simulation by Shura of typical spring 2030 generation shows that wind and nuclear could provide baseload, and solar much of daytime demand, reserving dammed hydro for evening flexibility. while some state that more geothermal baseload capacity should be added. Think tank Ember said in 2022 that Turkey needs to expand renewables at least twice as fast, to decarbonize the electricity sector and lower import bills. In 2023 they said that solar power rollout should be accelerated in the sunny south. Shura states that renewables could generate 70% of electricity by 2030, with coal reduced to 5%. Many new 400kV transmission lines are planned to be built by 2030. According to the plan by 2035 installed capacity will increase to: 30 GW (25 GW onshore, 5 GW offshore) of wind power, and 53 GW of solar power. The plan is for installed capacity to increase to 35 GW of hydroelectricity and 5 GW total of geothermal and biomass power. The plan expects the share of renewable energy in primary energy consumption, which was 16.7% in 2020, to increase to 23.7% by 2035. The plan expects the share of electricity from variable renewable energy, which was 12% in 2020, to increase gradually to 34% by 2035. ==Economics==

The fuel-only cost of fossil gas-fired power in early 2022 was 128 USD/MWh, which was more than double that of the levelized cost of electricity of new utility scale solar PV and new onshore wind. However in 2022 wind and solar remained more expensive than energy efficiency measures, which were estimated at 14 USD/MWh. Geothermal and pumped storage get 15 years of this YEKDEM. Otherwise tariffs apply for 10 years and any local bonus for 5 years, and are revised quarterly. According to the Industrial Development Bank of Turkey, the support fee based on source model depends on transferring money from low-cost solar, wind and hydroelectric power plants to those with high operating expenses, examples of which include imported coal and natural gas. Despite some renewables generators calling for it to be scrapped, it was extended into 2023. Earlier reports from other organisations say that such an expansion of renewables benefits employment, industrial production, and balance of trade. A 2022 study by Ember in advance of the Energy Ministry long-term plan suggested that dependence on imported energy could be reduced from a half to a quarter by 2030 by energy efficiency and increasing solar capacity to 40 GW and wind to 30 GW: this would mean the increase in wind and solar accelerating from 1 GW a year each to 2.5 and 4 GW respectively. They said that domestic solar manufacturing capacity could achieve 8 GW a year. The report was based on 4 modeling studies by: the Istanbul Policy Center, the World Bank’s Climate and Development report, a report from Europe Beyond Coal and other local environmental organizations, and analysis from Turkish energy transition think tank Shura. If more renewable energy is generated it may be possible to export green hydrogen to the EU. Companies with a lot of renewables include the state electricity generation company (mainly hydro), Aydem, and Kalyon. Increasing export of electricity to the EU has also been proposed but analyst Kadri Taştan pointed out that this depends on "reliable and solid political relations between the two and an ambitious environmental policy in Turkey". Using renewable electricity to produce green hydrogen for export has also been suggested, but would require substantial investment. As of 2023 Chinese companies consider Turkey high risk, in part due to unpredictable and changeable regulations. SMEs buy solar parts from Malaysia due to the trade agreement. == Regulations ==

Unlicensed (about 2% of supply and over 90% of which is solar) generators must apply to distribution companies or industrial park license holders in their region for technical checks and approval. and the auction system was improved. In 2022 the Unlicensed Electricity Generation Regulation was amended so that the amount of surplus energy that can be sold may not exceed the total consumption of the consumer the previous year: the excess goes to the Renewable Energy Resources Support Mechanism. == Politics ==

The Turkish Electricity Industry Association has suggested a taxonomy, including investments in renewable energy, based on the EU taxonomy for sustainable activities. Some academics say that governments have not allowed civil society enough say on energy policy, leading to protests against building hydropower, geothermal power, and at least one wind farm. Think tank Shura says that renewables could replace coal power by 2035. Better co-operation between city government and central government has been suggested. == Health ==

Geothermal power in Turkey is used mainly for heating, and solar water heating is also widespread. However, burning wood for home heating (classified as "traditional biomass" within academic reports) has been causing indoor air pollution throughout history, and still poses such problems. Possible health benefits of expanding modern renewable energy have been estimated at US$800 million a year. == History ==

windmills Neolithic people in the Fertile Crescent burnt dung. The use of wood as "traditional biomass" in pre-republican times particularly affected Turkish forests in central and southeast Anatolia, whereas forests in coastal regions proved somewhat more renewable because these regions receive more precipitation. Due to deforestation in arid regions, poor communities continued to burn dry dung in some remote villages into the late 20th century. In the early 21st century wood was the major source of energy in rural areas. In late 20th century, biogas became the focus of much research. The first residential heat pump was installed at the turn of the century. Although there has been some academic research on solar houses since the 1970s this has been criticised as insufficient given the importance of the construction industry. == See also ==