Türkiye to quadruple renewable energy capacity by 2035 with $80B investment

Türkiye aims to increase installed wind and solar capacity to 120,000 megawatts (MW) by 2035, requiring nearly $80 billion investment, Alparslan Bayraktar, Turkish energy and natural resources minister, said on Monday.

By 2035, Türkiye will ‘quadruple’ current capacity of 30,000 MW, Bayraktar said during the Energy Transformation-Renewable Energy 2035 meeting in Istanbul, bringing together key players in the energy sector.

‘We believe that by working together with stakeholders, financial institutions and investors, we can achieve our goal of investing $80 billion in renewable energy,’ Bayraktar added.

In order to add 90,000 MW to existing capacity, Bayraktar explained that the country needs to install 7,500-8,000 MW of renewable energy capacity each year.

‘We are set to launch 90,000 MW of new renewable capacity, along with a new transmission grid, upgraded infrastructure, a new investment of approximately $108 billion and a new reform process,’ he said, outlining Türkiye’s vision for energy transformation and renewable energy over the next 11 years.

‘Certainly, when policymakers, investors, financial institutions, international organizations, national agencies and our suppliers each play their role, I am confident that Türkiye will successfully meet these targets,’ he added.

Bayraktar also explained that Türkiye’s energy policies are driven by three key goals including security of supply, reducing foreign energy dependence and achieving net zero emissions by 2053.

The Turkish minister said that the share of renewable energy in Türkiye’s total installed electricity capacity reached 59% as of September.

Noting that Türkiye also aim to shorten the permit processes in renewable energy, which currently takes about 48 months, Bayraktar said, ‘We will reduce these 48 months to 2 years or less. In this way, these investments will be realized very quickly.’

Türkiye is on track to produce 9.1 million cubic meters of gas per day in the first quarter of 2025 via Sakarya Gas Field in the Black Sea, meeting the needs of 4 million households, he added.

• Alparslan Bayraktar
• natural resources minister
• Turkish Energy
• Turkiye