Renewables generate majority of power during Ramadan Eid in Türkiye

Renewable resources dominated Turkiye’s electrical output between April 10 and 12, when Ramadan Eid was celebrated, with an average 76% share of total generation.

Data compiled from the Turkish Electricity Transmission Corporation (TEIAS) revealed the consumption of 1.69 million megawatt-hours of electricity during the three days of Eid, almost equivalent to the quantity produced over the same period totaling 1.7 million megawatt-hours.

On April 10, the first day of Eid al-Fitr, 36.07% of electricity generation was met from dams and hydroelectric power plants, 16.62% from wind, 10.72% from solar, 5.02% from geothermal, and 4.33% from biomass.

On the second day, April 11, 22.79% of electricity was generated from wind, 33.53% from hydroelectric power plants with dams, 11.63% from solar, 4.94% from geothermal and 4.24% from biomass.

On April 12, the last day of the holiday, hydroelectric power plants with dams ranked first in electricity generation with a share of 37.32%. On the same day, 20.93% of electricity was generated from wind, 11.27% from solar, 4.68% from geothermal and 3.92% from biomass.

Over the three-day Eid holiday, the share of renewable resources out of total electricity generation averaged 76%, while natural gas, coal and other sources generated the remaining shares.

– Solar, wind and hydropower prove indispensable

Ankara-based Blue Energy Engineering Chairman and Renewable Energy Consultant, Taner Ercomert, lauded the country’s renewable energy potential, as witnessed by the dominance of renewables throughout Ramadan Eid and the decrease in imported resources, such as natural gas and coal.

Furthermore, solar, hydroelectricity, and wind power have proved indispensable, Ercomert said.

The share of installed solar capacity, in particular, could expand given the country’s sunny climate.

Ercomert foresees a further decline in the share of coal and gas in the long term with the provision of nuclear energy from the first nuclear power plant in Akkuyu and a greater share of local renewable resources, especially hydroelectricity from dams, due in part to the plentiful rainfall since the beginning of the year.

Given the nature of solar and wind as intermittent energy sources that are not capable of providing 24/7 power, Ercomert explained that energy storage systems, along with the country’s largest renewable source, hydroelectricity with dams, are needed to cover the deficit.

“Nuclear power and natural gas, to a certain extent, will have important shares in electricity generation,’ he added.

In the first 3.5 months of 2024, hydroelectric, wind, solar, geothermal and biomass power plants contributed greatly to local power production of 48 billion kilowatt-hours, the majority of which was 26 billion kilowatt-hours derived from hydroelectric power plants. This local renewable production also prevented energy imports worth $7 billion.

• Turkish Electricity Transmission Corporation (TEIAS)