More than 50% of Turkey's installed capacity is from renewables

Turkey's installed power capacity reached almost to 100 thousand megawatts, more than half of which comes from renewable energy resources, said Fatih Donmez, Turkey's Energy and Natural Resources Minister on Wednesday.

Minister Donmez spoke during the Association for Renewable Energy Research's online conference and said that Turkey's electricity production from renewable energy has been above the 40% band for the last 3 years.

He said that renewable energy is the only resource, shares of which continues to increase in energy mix even during the coronavirus pandemic.

The minister said that more than $ 2 trillion has been invested in renewable energy in the global markets in the last 10 years and this figure is expected to reach 1.3 trillion dollars in the next 5 years.

The appeal of renewable energy will only increase with factors such as decreasing costs, incentives and combating climate change, he said.

"Renewable energy investments did not slow down even during the epidemic. We have also witnessed that the renewable energy sector is more resistant to the destructive effects of the epidemic and it succeeded better than the others in these trying times. This proves us that the green energy transformation will continue exponentially. Renewable energy resources will continue to be at a different point in terms of both their contribution to energy independence and global responsibilities," the energy minister said.

The renewable energy will both stimulate economic mobility and continue to be one of the most important factors in reducing carbon emissions, with resource investments, infrastructure and technology investments, and new network investments, Donmez said.

The minister said that great progress has been achieved in the field of renewable energy, especially with the legal regulations made in the last 10 years and the policies developed to support the investment environment.

"All our efforts in this area are directly effective not only by ensuring our electricity supply security, but also by reducing climate change. Turkey is applying its national action plan to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions with great care. Compared to the EU and OECD countries, Turkey is far behind in per capita emissions. It would never be right to expect them to share the same burden with those responsible. Today, we see the discussions on the Paris Climate Agreement as an opportunity to re-determine the status of the countries within this agreement, to create a stronger synergy with a more accurate classification and responsibility sharing," he said.