Turkey to invest $80bn in renewable energy by 2035

Turkey’s government has pledged to invest $80 billion into renewable energy by 2035 to reach its 120GW installed capacity target.

Alparslan Bayraktar, the minister of energy and natural resources, said the country will continue to increase its installed solar capacity, which was zero in 2013.

“We have significantly enhanced our potential with Yeka (renewable energy resource areas), tenders and capacity allocations,” Anadolu news quoted the minister as saying.

The “Yeka” initiative includes a tender process to identify high potential, specialised zones for solar and wind projects in Turkey.

Installed solar power capacity, which was about 40MW in 2014, had increased to more than 25,000MW by the end of January 2026, Bayraktar said

“We closed 2025 with a record in renewable energy. 2026 will also be a record year for renewables,” he said. 

In January Ibrahim Erden, president of the Turkish Wind Energy Association, said he expected Ankara to issue its first offshore wind farm tenders by the end of the year, after installing 2GW of new wind energy capacity in 2025.

Bayraktar said in September that Turkey planned to receive bids for renewable energy projects with a combined capacity of 2GW by the end of the year.

Ankara has already begun discussions with Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power on projects to generate 5GW of solar power.

Further reading:

• EBRD may back Turkey’s $30bn power project
• Turkey and Saudi Arabia to sign renewable projects at Cop31
• Turkey plans first offshore wind farm tenders in 2026