Turkey's installed solar power is expected to reach 11 gigawatts this year and at least 12 gigawatts next year, before it hits 40 gigawatts by 2030, according to Kutay Kaleli, head of the International Solar Energy Society (ISES) Turkey Section (GÜNDER) on Monday.

Turkey's total installed power in electricity has reached 99,819 megawatts as of the end of 2021, of which 7,815 megawatts came supplied by solar power plants (SPP), Kaleli said in a written statement.

Noting that the installed power in solar energy increased by approximately 1,148 megawatts last year, Kaleli said natural gas power plants continue to hold the largest share in the installed power with 25,573 megawatts.

"While dam sources have a share in the capacity with 23,280 megawatts, the installed power of wind power plants is around 10,607 megawatts, lignite power plants is around 10,119 megawatts, imported coal-fired power plants is 8,993 megawatts, river type hydroelectric power plants is 8,212 megawatts, geothermal plants are 1,676 megawatts and biomass is 1,644 megawatts," he explained.

Underlining that they predict that solar energy capacity will approach 11 gigawatts in 2022 with the developments in the SPP market, hybrid plant installations and renewable energy resource areas (RERA) SPP projects, Kaleli reiterated that, "We envisage that the solar energy installed power will reach at least 12 gigawatts in 2023 and 40 gigawatts by 2030."

Kaleli noted that 40 gigawatts of installed power will increase sectoral employment and a qualified workforce, double the capacity of domestic panel technologies and the production industry, and make Turkey a regional solar leader.

Pointing out that as the sector they dubbed 2021 as the "Roof SPP year" Kaleli said: "The number of applications in the rooftop solar power plant market, which was paved with the new unlicensed legislation issued in May 2019, exceeded 2,000 last year and reached a capacity of over 1,000 megawatts. We anticipate that the increase will continue."

Kaleli stated that, according to research, there is a technical potential of at least 20 gigawatts for rooftop solar systems in buildings in Turkey, and informed that most of this potential is for multi-person residences.

He noted that they expect at least 10 gigawatts of potential to be put into operation in the coming years, with the increase in self-consumption of unlicensed installations for businesses such as cement factories, hotels and hospitals with unsuitable roofs.

"With the economic potential that requires an investment budget of $6 billion, it is calculated that natural gas imports of $300 million per year can be prevented," he noted.

He said the potential required to ensure energy supply security exists in solar energy.

"The way to realize this power is to offer the sustainable capacity to solar energy investments," he said.