One of the indirect causes was the growth of the solar energy popularity. During the period from July 2022 to December 2024 over 9 GW of solar panels were commissioned in Turkey, and standalone generation projects accounted for more than 90% of this capacity. Such projects are implemented mainly in the housing sector. According to Ember, the total area of flat and sloping roofs in Turkey is enough for placing 120 GW of PV-modules – this is 6+ times more than the currently installed capacity of the solar panels including major solar power plants (19 GW).
The solar-driven generation decreases the incentives for building wind farms, which usually requires attracting institutional investors (different from PV-modules available for individual use). In addition, infrastructural restrictions also contribute to this: the permits for building tank farms are issued with account of the possibility for transmitting energy with the existing power generation, while as micro solar power plants do not require such permits. The regulators are trying to solve this problem with the help of energy storage systems: according to the rules established in 2022, the grid infrastructure restrictions should not be taken into account for the wind farms having the generation capacity equivalent to the installed capacity of the used energy storage units.
Thanks to the leap forward in the solar-driven generation development, the overall share of low-carbon energy sources in the Turkish energy mix by the end of 2024 achieved 25.6%. In the years immediately ahead, this share will exceed 50% due to the stage-by-stage commissioning of four power units of Akkuyu nuclear power plant, which will cover 10% of the national needs in electricity. In 2025, the Turkish Energy Ministry is to decide about building nuclear power plants in Sinope and in Thrace (in the North and the North-West of the country).
