The power Türkiye generated from wind energy hit an all-time high on Sunday, official data showed Monday, as the country ramps up efforts to rely more on renewable energy sources.
About 27.8%, or 207,906 megawatt-hours (MWh), of the total power Türkiye generated on Sunday stemmed from wind farms, the data from Türkiye’s Electricity Transmission Corporation (TEIAŞ) showed.
It is up from the previous record registered on Nov. 21, when the country produced 204,375 MWh of electricity from wind.
Türkiye is still highly dependent on imports to cover its energy needs, which leaves it vulnerable to rising costs that skyrocketed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. To boost its renewable energy production, it launched large-scale projects and began solar and wind power station tenders.
Imported coal and lignite plants followed as the biggest sources of power generation on Sunday, at 21.4% and 17.3%, respectively.
Daily electricity production totaled 747,911 megawatt-hours, while daily electricity consumption amounted to 759,449 megawatt-hours.
On Sunday, Türkiye’s electricity exports amounted to 7,652 megawatt-hours and imports totaled 19,190 megawatt-hours.
Renewables accounted for more than 95% of new capacity increases in the country last year. The total installed electricity capacity stands at over 100 gigawatts, with more than half from renewables, including hydro, wind, solar and geothermal.
After a hydropower capacity of around 31,600 megawatts (MW), the wind is the second-biggest renewable source of electricity at 11,307 megawatts. Türkiye’s installed solar power reached 9,120 MW as of the end of October.
Türkiye is forecast to see around 64% growth in its renewable energy capacity to 90 gigawatts (GW) in the next five years, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), with almost 75% of this addition stemming from solar and wind.
The growth will help it rank fourth in Europe and among the 10 biggest renewable markets in the world.
Some 49% of the capacity growth is expected to stem from solar energy and 24% from wind energy, the IEA report published last week said.
Türkiye ranks fifth in Europe and 12th in the world in renewable energy installed capacity and seventh in Europe and 12th in the world in wind energy installed power.
