World Bank to pledge $750M for electricity transmission project in Türkiye

The World Bank is pledging up to $750 million for a substantial investment plan for Türkiye’s electricity transmission infrastructure, the bank’s country director, Humberto Lopez, announced on Monday at the Transforming Türkiye with Sun, Wind, and Smart Grids: New Targets to Net Zero event as part of COP28 in Dubai.

Both the World Bank and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) have started preparations for this transmission project, which could cost up to $750 million, Lopez confirmed.

A solid plan is currently underway for Türkiye to triple its installed renewable capacity over the next 12 years, corresponding to 60 gigawatts of renewable energy generation, the aim of which is to help decarbonize the country over a sustained period of time.

The project will cost approximately $100 billion in 12 years when generating, transmission, and distribution expenditures are taken into account. Of that, manufacturing will cost $60-75 billion, transmission $10 billion, and distribution $8-10 billion.

“This is an operation that is going to take time. The preparation of a transmission operation is delicate because of the impact on the environment, (…) but we’re already working with them because they’re coming with a very solid plan,” Lopez said.

The cost of this new plan, described by Lopez as “one of the biggest programs that we have had for renewable installation in the developing world,” will be equivalent to around 10% of the country’s current Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Public sector finance will account for $10 billion out of the $100 billion plan, but Lopez stressed the importance of attracting ‘much-needed’ private investment for the remaining $90 billion.

“I think what is going to be critical is the collaboration with other multilateral development banks,” he said.

“This is huge, and it is not only big in terms of size; the complexity of this program is going to be quite significant.”

Lopez acknowledged the remarkable achievements that Türkiye has made in renewable energy development, which currently accounts for 55% of the country’s total 106 gigawatts of installed capacity. He also welcomed the decision to increase renewable generation by adding 60 gigawatts of solar and wind energy by 2035.

Türkiye needs to install 5 gigawatts of solar and wind power capacity ‘every year” to reach its medium-term, net-zero goal of producing 60 gigawatts by 2035, the country’s energy minister said in October.

Reporting by Ata Ufuk Seker in Brussels

• COP28
• Electricity
• Gross domestic product
• IBRD
• Turkiye