Turkey will invest $10.9 billion in line with the country's National Energy Efficiency Action Plan by 2023, Fatih Donmez, Turkey's energy and natural resources minister announced on Thursday.
The country has already achieved approximately 1 million tons of oil equivalent (Mtoe) energy savings in 2017 and 2018 with an investment of $1.2 billion, Donmez explained, and added that the country will reduce its primary energy consumption by around 14% and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 66 million tons by 2023.
To this end, the first phase of an energy efficiency project to transform public buildings into energy efficient ones will start in collaboration with the World Bank and the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization with a budget of $200 million.
'We will save $30 billion by 2033 through efficiency investments. We set the goal of providing 15% efficiency for public buildings by the end of 2023,' Donmez said.
The Energy Efficiency Plan also involves the use of more domestic resources to cover Turkey's burgeoning energy demand, which he said was as a result of a expanding economy that has grown by 5% over the past 16 years.
'As a result of the National Energy and Mining Policy, we have achieved 50% domestic electricity production by the end of last year. In the first quarter of this year, this figure reached 60%,' Donmez said.
The National Energy and Mining Policy includes the Energy Efficiency Plan, by which the country aims to promote the use of domestic resources.
Reporting by Nuran Erkul Kaya
Writing by Murat Temizer
Anadolu Agency
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