Turkey has announced an extensive $500 billion investment plan in energy infrastructure by 2040. Alparslan Bayraktar, Turkey's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, stated that the country aims to strengthen its energy independence and reduce energy import costs. In recent years, Turkey has spent an average of $70 billion on energy imports including coal, oil, and gas.
Strengthening Domestic Resources and Increasing Renewable Energy Capacity
The new program seeks to reduce import costs by strengthening domestic resources, particularly gas in the Black Sea, as well as quadrupling the installed capacity of solar and wind energy. Turkey aims to meet its energy needs using domestic resources by 2040 and increase the installed capacity of wind and solar energy to 175 gigawatts (GW). This program also includes the construction of 10 gigawatts of nuclear power plant capacity.
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Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant and Targeting Electric Vehicles
The Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, which is being constructed as Turkey's first nuclear power plant, is being built by the Russian company Rosatom and has a total capacity of 4800 megawatts (MW). This plant is expected to meet about 10 percent of Turkey's electricity demand. Additionally, Turkey aims to add 20 million electric vehicles (EVs) to the transportation cycle by 2040. Energy efficiency policies are also expected to yield $240 billion in savings.
Last year, Turkey ranked fourth in electric vehicle sales in Europe, selling 190,000 fully electric vehicles, which accounted for 17 percent of total new car sales. The share of solar and wind energy in Turkey currently stands at about 22 percent, while coal remains the largest source of electricity generation at 34 percent. According to estimates, investment in electricity projects alone requires over $200 billion in investment.
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