Türkiye generates enough electricity from wind and solar power plants to meet the annual needs of all households in the country, Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar announced on Wednesday.
The installed capacity of wind and solar energy has grown from virtually zero in the early 2000s to over 31,000 megawatts today, Bayraktar said via a written statement released by the Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Ministry.
Bayraktar said Türkiye’s electricity demand increased by an average of 4.4% per year over the last 20 years and now reached 335 billion kilowatt-hours.
He said that the public and private sectors have invested heavily in infrastructure to meet the increase in demand.
Türkiye, ranking among the top 11 globally and 5th in Europe for renewable energy capacity, has increased its solar energy installed capacity to 19,005 megawatts, accounting for 16.6% of the country’s total installed capacity, the ministry added.
Türkiye aims to increase installed wind and solar capacity to 120,000 megawatts (MW) by 2035, requiring a nearly $80 billion investment.
