Türkiye says renewables avoided $21.5B in coal imports, 354M tons of CO2

Türkiye generated a combined 442.2 terawatt-hours of electricity from solar and wind power between 2015 and 2025, according to data from the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry released Monday.

The output helped avoid $21.5 billion in coal imports and an estimated 354 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, the ministry said.

The release coincided with the World Zero Emissions Day, observed on Sept. 21 since 2008 to raise awareness of the impact of fossil fuels, reduce carbon footprints and promote renewable energy.

Türkiye generated 11,847 gigawatt-hours of electricity from solar and wind in 2015, replacing electricity that would have required around $300 million worth of imported coal and avoiding an estimated 9.5 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions, the ministry said.

Renewable generation increased over the following decade, reducing the potential carbon emissions associated with fossil-fuel-based power generation.

Between 2015 and 2025, the 442.2 TWh generated by solar and wind was equivalent to electricity that would have required $21.5 billion in imported coal or $43.3 billion in imported natural gas, according to the ministry.

If the same amount of electricity had been generated entirely from imported coal, about 354 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions would have been avoided. If it had instead been generated entirely from natural gas, the avoided emissions would have amounted to about 177 million tons.

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said Türkiye was continuing to maximize its renewable-energy potential as part of its targets for net-zero emissions by 2053 and greater energy independence.

“Between 2015 and 2025, the 442.2 TWh of electricity we generated from wind and solar prevented carbon emissions of up to 354 million tons,” Bayraktar said in a post on the social media platform X.

He said Türkiye had also avoided tens of billions of dollars in fossil-fuel imports while expanding renewable energy.

Bayraktar said Türkiye had risen to fifth place in Europe and 11th globally in renewable energy by installed capacity and investment, and reiterated the country’s target of reaching 120 gigawatts of renewable capacity by 2035.

The shares of solar and wind power in Türkiye’s electricity generation reached 11.6% and 12.1%, respectively, as of this July.

Solar power’s share of electricity generation rose 28-fold from 0.4% in 2016, while wind power’s share increased from 5.7% to 12.1% over the same period.

The rise in renewable generation was accompanied by a significant expansion in installed capacity.

Türkiye’s total electricity generation capacity reached 126,476 megawatts (MW) at the end of July. Solar accounted for 27,507 MW, or 21.7% of total installed capacity, while wind capacity reached 15,358 MW, representing 12.1%.

Combined solar and wind capacity stood at 42,865 MW, accounting for 33.8% of Türkiye’s total installed electricity capacity.

Solar power generation also reached a new monthly record in July after setting a previous record in June. Solar-generated electricity totaled 5.37 billion kilowatt-hours in July, the highest monthly level on record.

DAILYSABAH