Türkiye on Wednesday put into operation new solar and wind energy plants through a mass inauguration ceremony attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who stressed Ankara’s commitment to the investments in the renewable energy field.

“As Türkiye, we are in a race with ourselves in the field of energy. Today, we are inaugurating renewable energy projects that we have launched in recent years,” Erdoğan told the ceremony held in the capital, Ankara.

The president started his speech by recalling the organization of the Istanbul Natural Resources Summit last week, highlighting it was the opportunity to once again assess Türkiye’s potential in critical areas such as energy transition, mining, energy supply security, critical minerals, and hydrocarbons.

“It is widely acknowledged that our country has gained significant momentum in the energy sector,” he added.

He went on to emphasize that we are living in an era where energy, especially energy supply security, has become one of the top priorities of all nations, regardless of size.

“The world is growing, and economies are developing. Accordingly, energy demand is rising rapidly. Especially in developing economies, growth rates exceed the global average as they strive to make up for past deficiencies and reach a certain level of development,” he said, adding, however, that this also impacts nature.

“As the need for energy grows daily, new risks are being added to the already-threatened natural environment due to global warming,” he furthered.

The president pointed out the dilemma related to this and global risks, while also citing that international studies suggest that energy demand would continue to rise, and similarly, the environmental harm caused by greenhouse gases from energy consumption is steadily increasing.

“These fundamental facts tell us this: While our energy demand is rapidly increasing, our main energy sources, particularly hydrocarbons, are depleting, and at the same time, our world is becoming increasingly polluted. Even the most economically advanced countries are planning their energy policies according to this reality,” Erdoğan said.

“It’s now widely recognized that energy supply security, energy diplomacy, and resource diversification are not just technical issues but matters of national security.”

He also referred to the recent outages in parts of Europe, which he said “have once again highlighted the indispensable role of energy in our lives.”

While noting that competition over energy resources would become fiercer in the future, Erdoğan said: “Let me reiterate this: We do not see energy as a tool of competition but as a means of cooperation where mutual benefits can be achieved.”

Investments, demand

Moreover, he pointed out Ankara’s investments in the energy sector, declaring they had made “significant investments in every area,” starting from nuclear energy to hydropower, from wind to geothermal, from solar energy to oil and natural gas.

The president recalled some of the key projects, including the Akkuyu Nuclear Power plant, as well as discoveries in the Black Sea and Gabar.

“With the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant project, we’ve elevated our nation to a new league. Moreover, we’ve transformed Türkiye into a hub where energy corridors intersect,” he said.

Furthermore, he provided information on energy needs, indicating that in the past 20 years, the country’s energy demand has tripled. “We forecast that electricity demand will increase by at least 50% by 2035,” he added.

While also mentioning that Türkiye still relies on imported sources, he conveyed the aim to curb this dependency and ultimately transform it into a net energy exporter in resources and technology.

Renewable energy

The president also detailed the key data related to the installed power capacity, and said: “As of March 2025, our installed power capacity has reached 118,185 megawatts (MW). Of this, 60% comes from renewable sources. Back in 2005, we had no installed solar power capacity; today, we’ve reached 21,833 megawatts.”

“This major success is the result of our long-standing, determined planning and investment strategies. By 2035, we aim to raise our combined solar and wind power capacity to 120,000 megawatts. For this purpose, we will invest approximately $80 billion,” he noted.

“By 2035, we also aim to establish 5,000 megawatts of offshore wind capacity,” he added.

At the same time, Erdoğan said that through the Renewable Energy Support Mechanism (YEKDEM), the government also stands by the investors.

“We support both renewable energy investments and the domestic production of the equipment used in these investments,” he said, also referencing a significant increase in the number of manufacturers in the sector.

“We have reached over 75% local content in components used in solar power plants, and over 70% in wind power plants, particularly in towers, blades, and generators. God willing, we will achieve even better levels. I would also like to emphasize that we do not overlook the challenges faced by investors. We aim to reduce the permit process, which currently takes up to 48 months, down to 18 months,” he maintained.

He also said that in 2024, a total of 6,182 electricity generation plants, both large and small, were commissioned across 81 provinces.

“The total investment value of these plants is approximately $5 billion, and their total installed capacity is 6,818 megawatts. Of this capacity, 6,676 megawatts, equivalent to 98%, comes from renewable energy power plants,” he said.

The ceremony concluded with the inauguration of both wind and solar plants in the provinces of Çanakkale, Bursa, Sakarya, Kütahya and Şanlıurfa.