Turkey’s energy ministry is set to restart auctions next year for specially designated renewable energy zones to draw global investment, a news report said.

The country plans to add 2,000 megawatts of new renewable energy capacity every year until 2035 through these auctions, Bloomberg reported, citing informed sources.

In addition, the ministry is exploring incentives for companies holding unused licences for wind and solar plants, encouraging them to begin construction, the report said.

This untapped capacity has been a barrier to new investors entering the market, said Ufuk Alparslan, regional lead at energy research company Ember.

Ankara aims to scale up solar energy to 52.9 gigawatts 2035 from 9.5GW in 2022. Its target for battery storage is 7.5GW.

In May the World Bank signed a $1 billion programme with Turkey to fast-track its renewable energy expansion initiatives.

Ankara secured the backing from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in March to launch a new initiative to decarbonise its hard-to-abate sectors, such as steel, cement, aluminium and fertiliser.

The country has committed to a net zero target of 2053, making industrial decarbonisation imperative. Its low-carbon pathways initiative shows that investments of more than $70 billion will be needed to decarbonise the selected four sectors by 135 million tonnes of CO2 annually.