Türkiye is set for a record year in renewable energy in 2026 as the country accelerates capacity additions in line with its 2035 targets, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Friday
Speaking at the IICEC Conference in Istanbul, Bayraktar said Türkiye will end this year with more than 8 gigawatts (GW) of new renewable capacity, including around 6 GW of solar and nearly 2 GW of wind power.
He said annual additions need to rise to 10–12 GW to reach the target of 120 GW of installed renewable capacity by 2035, adding that 2026 will mark a new peak in renewable investment.
Bayraktar said the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK) will soon announce a five-year, nationwide investment and maintenance program worth around 1 trillion liras for electricity distribution networks.
On transmission, he said Türkiye has launched a "Transmission 2.0" investment phase, including high-voltage direct current (HVDC) lines, with about $30 billion in grid investments planned over the next decade.
Bayraktar also said an 840-megawatt natural gas power plant in the northwestern city of Kıirklareli will be commissioned in the first quarter of 2026 and that 2–3 GW of energy storage capacity is expected to come online gradually from next year.
He also said Türkiye aims to strengthen its electricity grid and expand power trade by increasing interconnection capacity with neighboring countries, including boosting exports to Syria and Iraq and advancing a green energy corridor project linking Azerbaijan, Georgia and Bulgaria, with power transmission to Europe planned via Nakhchivan.
Türkiye aims to transform Turkish Petroleum into a company producing 1 million barrels of oil and gas through mergers and acquisitions, Bayraktar said, adding that the country plans to expand overseas through partnerships with international oil companies, with first drilling in Somalia and Pakistan scheduled for 2026.
He added that 2026 will mark Türkiye's first horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing under a shale program in Diyarbakir, which is expected to be extended to Thrace for shale gas production.
By Ebru Sengul Cevrioglu
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr
