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Turkey’s energy transition continues to gain momentum. The first four months of 2025 have delivered remarkable figures, particularly in the development of renewable energy sources. According to the latest data published by TEİAŞ, both the growth in installed capacity and the shifts in resource distribution clearly demonstrate Turkey’s progress toward its 2035 targets.
Growth in Installed Capacity Continues
As of the end of April 2025, Turkey’s total installed capacity has reached 118,344 MW. This represents an increase of 2,361 MW compared to the end of December 2024. In just four months, the country has achieved 2% growth in installed capacity.
This growth highlights the continuation of energy investments and the ongoing expansion of generation capacity. Yet, the most striking development lies in the distribution of this capacity increase by source.
Record Growth in Solar Energy Investments
Approximately 88% of the newly commissioned plants were solar-powered. In the first four months of 2025 alone, solar capacity grew by 2,084 MW. This increase has brought solar’s share in total installed capacity to 21,966 MW.
This demonstrates that Turkey has already surpassed the required pace for achieving its 2035 solar targets. If the current trend continues, those goals may well be reached ahead of schedule.
Need for Acceleration in Wind Energy
Since the beginning of 2025, 347 MW of new wind capacity has been commissioned. While significant, it is noted that the current pace must increase by about 2.7 times in order to meet the 2035 targets. Therefore, additional incentives and investments in this field are deemed critical.
Clean Energy Share Reaches 60%
The share of clean sources—including reservoir-based hydro, run-of-river hydro, solar, wind, biomass, and geothermal—has reached 60.2% of total installed capacity. This indicates a pivotal milestone in Turkey’s move away from fossil fuels in electricity generation.
The breakdown of renewable installed capacity is as follows:
Solar: 21,966 MW
Wind: 13,211 MW
Reservoir Hydro: 23,863 MW
Run-of-River Hydro: 8,369 MW
Biomass: 2,115 MW
Geothermal: 1,733 MW
Electricity Generation by Source (January–April 2025)
Total electricity generation in the first four months of the year stood at approximately 83 million MWh. The breakdown by source was as follows:
Natural Gas: 22.9%
Imported Coal: 20.7%
Reservoir Hydro: 13.1%
Wind: 10.7%
Domestic Coal (lignite + hard coal): 12.1%
Solar: 8.4%
Geothermal: 3.3%
Run-of-River Hydro: 5.8%
Biomass: 2.8%
Fuel Oil & Others: 0.2%
This distribution shows that, despite the high share of renewables in installed capacity, fossil fuels still play a significant role in actual generation.
As of April 2025, Turkey has reached an important milestone in its energy transition. The momentum in solar energy and the growth in installed capacity are promising. However, stronger advances in other renewable sources, particularly wind, are necessary. At the same time, increasing the share of renewables in generation will critically depend on greater investment in grid flexibility and storage technologies.
Source: TEİAŞ (Data extraction date: 01.05.2025 – 18:30)