An Assessment of Renewable Energy Resources for Electricity Generation in Turkey

In order to achieve emission mitigation targets and reduce dependency on imported energy, many countries moved toward renewable energy resources. Among them, Turkey has achieved a remarkable renewable energy capacity increase in recent years. Today, Turkey is at the forefront in Europe and MENA region in terms of installed capacity of geothermal (ranked 1st) and hydroelectric power (ranked second after Norway). The country accelerated its solar photovoltaic (PV) investments, particularly in the last few years, and ranked first in 2017 and second after Germany in 2018 in newly added PV capacity among European and MENA countries. By the end of 2019, Turkey has the tenth highest electricity generation from wind energy in the world. Turkey also speeds up its biomass energy investments in line with the country’s energy diversity policy. Turkey owes its accomplishments in renewable energy not only to its substantial resources but also to its efficient YEKDEM feed-in tariff (FiT) mechanism and YEKA auction mechanism for allocation of connection capacity. This study presents an overall assessment of renewable energy resources in Turkey and introduces the existing renewable energy incentive mechanisms. It carries out feasibility analyses of wind, solar PV, biomass, and geothermal power plants in Turkey and concludes with recommendations for renewable energy expansion in the country.