The photo is sourced from ekincilerdc.com
A key contributor to coal-fired generation growth has been the increasing availability of coal imports caused by both a global decrease in prices and trade restrictions on the supply of Russian coal to the EU. For instance, the average price of power-generating coal in the South African port of Richards Bay, one of the largest coal hubs in the Eastern Hemisphere, fell by half in 2023 to $119 per ton (against $241 per ton in 2022). Meanwhile, the import of power-generating coal to Turkey from Russia, which amounted to 4 million tons in 2021, rose to 12.4 million tons in 2022 and to 17.4 million tons in 2023. At the same time, Russia’s share in Turkish imports of power-generating coal went up from 49% in 2022 to 73% in 2023.
The production of electricity from imported coal in Turkey increased by 14% in 2023 (from 63 TWh to 72 TWh). As a result, the share of imported coal in coal-fired generation exceeded 60% last year. A key factor was the launch of the Emba Hunutlu coal-fired power plant in the province of Adana on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey: its two power units using imported coal started to produce electricity on a regular basis in July and October 2022, respectively. The power plant’s output totaled 10 TWh in 2023.
The share of coal in Turkey’s energy mix rose from 35.4% in 2022 to 36.9% in 2023. In that regard, coal outstripped all other energy sources: gas (20.8%), oil products (0.3%) and renewable sources (42%), including hydroelectric power plants. According to a forecast by Ember, Turkey will rank first in Europe in terms of coal-fired generation in 2025.
However, the second half of the 2020s will see a structural shift in the country’s power industry due to the phased launch of four power units at the Akkuyu NPP, which will be able to provide up to 10% of the country’s power needs. Another factor will be the development of the Sakarya gas field in the Black Sea, whose output is expected to exceed 40 million cubic metres of gas per day by 2027–2028, allowing Turkey to reduce its dependence on liquefied natural gas imports and provide gas-fired TPPs with feedstock.