Turkey installed about 2.8 GW of PV capacity in the first five months of 2025, according to data from the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources.
“The real installed capacity for this year so far, however, is around 2.6 GW, as 0.2 GW is represented by PV systems installed in previous years that were not registered correctly,” Yusuf Bahadir Turhan, president of Turkish NGO Solar3GW, told pv magazine. “This is due to lacking data from grid operators of organized industrial zones as they are not as disciplined as conventional grid operators in Turkey.”
Turhan said that of the 2.6 GW installed so far this year, about 0.5 GW came from utility-scale projects awarded in the YEKA GES auctions in 2023. The remaining 2.1 GW consists of “unlicensed” systems developed for self-consumption by large energy users.
“In these projects, electricity cannot be commercially marketed but can only be subject to net-metering with its related consuming point,” said Turhan. “Net metering rules for commercial and industrial consumers came into force in 2023, but businesses have begun to invest heavily in solar under net metering only recently, which is why this much capacity has become online from the beginning of this year.”
Turhan said he expects Turkey to add about 5 GW of new PV capacity in 2025.
Fluctuating and high energy prices have driven solar adoption among both small and medium-sized businesses and large corporations.
In April, the government raised electricity prices by 25% for residential users and 10% for commercial and industrial consumers. Natural gas prices also rose by 20% and 24.2% for the same groups, respectively. Turkish media reported that the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK) approved the increases at the request of electricity distribution companies facing financial difficulties.
Turkey’s cumulative installed solar capacity reached 22,648 MW at the end of May, according to figures from the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources.
The ministry reported that solar capacity stood at 14,995 MW at the end of May 2024, indicating more than 7.6 GW of solar added over the past 12 months.
In October 2024, the government’s 2025 budget proposal set a target of 22.6 GW of cumulative solar capacity by the end of 2026, up from 18.8 GW this year.
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