Türkiye's hydropower generation has reached record highs this year, helping the country avoid nearly $5 billion in energy imports by displacing natural gas in electricity generation, according to Elvan Tugsuz Guven, chair of the Hydroelectric Power Plants Industrialists Association (HESİAD).
Speaking on Anadolu's Energy Terminal program, Guven said 2026 has been an exceptionally productive year for Türkiye's hydropower sector.
She said favorable rainfall, snowpack and groundwater conditions, following a drought last year, significantly boosted hydropower generation.
Hydroelectric power plants account for 32,314 megawatts of Türkiye's 125,800-megawatt total installed power capacity and generated 33.8% of the country's electricity in the first half of the year, underscoring their critical role in energy security, she said.
- Nearly $5B in natural gas imports displaced
Guven said hydropower generation has made a significant contribution not only to Türkiye's electricity system but also to its external trade balance.
"During the first six months, when energy and oil crises dominated the agenda, hydropower created tremendous value for Türkiye. We estimate that the electricity generated displaced roughly $5 billion worth of natural gas imports," she said.
Türkiye has invested heavily in hydropower over the past two decades, with the country's existing installed capacity representing an estimated $80 billion in investments, Guven said.
These investments have helped Türkiye rank among the world's top 10 countries and second in Europe in terms of hydropower capacity, she added.
Guven said record hydropower generation helped cushion the impact of higher oil, natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices during the Iran-Israel conflict.
However, while favorable water conditions led to record electricity production this year, the positive picture has not been reflected in revenues, she said, noting that hydroelectric power plants continue to face financial sustainability challenges because of low electricity market prices despite higher output.
Guven also highlighted climate change as a key challenge, stressing the growing importance of artificial intelligence, digitalization and smart watershed management in improving water resource management.
- "Strong renewable energy system requires strong balancing infrastructure"
Guven said the expansion of renewable energy must go hand in hand with investments in system flexibility.
"However, one fact should not be forgotten: a strong renewable energy system can only be sustained with robust balancing infrastructure. Our choices among electricity generation sources should be guided by energy import dependency, supply security, system flexibility, public interest and our carbon neutrality goals," she said.
Guven described hydropower as a key pillar of Türkiye's 2053 net-zero target, saying the energy transition requires solar, wind, hydropower, storage and grid infrastructure to work together.
"The success of the energy transition will only be possible to the extent that we see solar, wind, hydropower, storage and grid infrastructure not as alternatives to one another, but as complementary elements," she said.
By Humeyra Ayaz
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr
