ANKARA

The General Directorate of Turkish Coal Enterprises (TKİ) is set to expand its solar power capacity to 24 megawatts by 2026, generating about 41 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry has announced.

In a statement, the ministry said that the initiative is part of its sustainable energy and environmental policies aimed at integrating depleted coal mines back into the economy through renewable power investments.

As part of the project, in Türkiye‘s western province of Manisa’s Soma district, a 5-megawatt unlicensed solar plant is operating on the site of the Ege Lignite Enterprise, while a 5-megawatt grid-connected plant is producing electricity at the Can Lignite Enterprise in the northwestern Çanakkale province.

Together, the two facilities have 10 megawatts of installed capacity and generate 18 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, which is used to meet the directorate’s own consumption.

Preparations are also underway to build new solar farms in the western province of Kütahya’s Tavşanlı district and southern province of Kahramanmaraş’s Afşin district, the minister said.

The facility in Kütahya is planned at 5 megawatts, while the plant in Kahramanmaraş will have 9 megawatts of capacity.

Alongside its solar push, the directorate is reforesting former mine sites. In 2024, the company planted more than 12 million trees across 6,265 hectares to help cut carbon emissions and support climate goals.