Türkiye’s Sabanci Holding will invest over $6 billion in clean energy and climate technologies in the country over the next five years, according to the energy group president of the conglomerate, Kivanc Zaimler.
Zaimler told Analolu on the sidelines of COP28 in Dubai that clean energy technologies are at the heart of the company’s investment plans, including Sabanci Holding's energy companies, Enerjisa Enerji and Enerjisa Uretim, which operate in power distribution and generation, respectively.
Enerjisa Enerji is focusing on network transformation, encompassing energy efficiency, e-mobility and power distribution.
In line with the company’s roadmap that it has prepared to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius, Zaimler said that renewable energy power plants have become a vital component of these investments, with wind followed by solar power constituting significant shares.
He disclosed that the goal is to double investments across the Sabanci Group and to make more than three-quarters of these investments in this new economy.
To this end, he explained that investments in electricity distribution networks, distributed generation, energy efficiency, the expansion of electric vehicle charging stations, and new technologies, such as hydrogen, are also included.
The installed capacity of Enerjisa Uretim is approaching 5,000 megawatts, according to Zaimler.
“Enerjisa Uretim is a technology company that generates electricity, has determined its net zero emission roadmap, and has made plans for fair transformation,” he said.
Zaimler noted that Türkiye's solar and renewable energy capacity showed huge growth from 2015 onwards and now stands at 22 gigawatts.
- 'We need to create more gross domestic product with less energy'
However, he said that this could improve further as the country has huge potential, and in accordance with the country’s National Energy Action Plan, Türkiye aims to increase its renewable energy capacity by 2.5-fold by 2030.
A target of 51,000 megawatts has been set, 18,00 megawatts of which will derive from wind and 33,000 megawatts from solar.
“When we look at Türkiye’s energy portfolio, the share of renewable energy, which is currently 55%, has the potential to increase to over 70%,” he said.
To mobilize this potential, he noted the importance of financing, networking and permission mechanisms.
Türkiye’s most important issue is the economic development model in which the country can reduce its energy intensity while increasing production from renewable energy.
'We need to create more gross domestic product with less energy,” he said.
Reporting by Nuran Erkul in Dubai
Writing by Handan Kazanci
Anadolu Agency
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