Turkey’s solar power generation soars 50 pct: Energy minister

Turkey's electricity generation from solar power plants soared by 50 percent, the country's energy and natural resources minister said on March 23, citing data from February 2020.

The share of solar power plants in Turkey's electricity production has increased by 3.7 percent since it came online in 2002, Fatih Dönmez said during the annual meeting of Turkey's Renewable Energy Investors Association (GUYAD).

Solar energy sources constitute 7.1 percent of the country's total installed capacity while installed power in solar energy reached 6,869 megawatts (MW) by the end of February this year.

The first two months of this year has already seen progress in this sector with solar generating some 24.3 percent of the 831 MW of installed power.

Turkey ranks third in Europe and ninth in the world in terms of added installed solar capacity since 2014, Dönmez highlighted.

Its solar ambition is part of Turkey's goal towards self-sufficiency in energy resources, utilizing domestically produced and renewable resources and developing technologies to support this drive.

Despite the negative effects of the COVID-19 outbreak, Dönmez said that hopes for solar energy are high.

Citing the 2020 Energy Outlook Report published by the International Energy Agency (IEA), Dönmez said solar energy has been declared the cheapest energy source in history, with at least a five-fold decline in solar energy costs compared to 10 years ago.

The country aims to increase its installed power by 10,000 MW in the following 10 years by conducting at least 1,000 megawatts of solar Renewable Energy Resource Zones (YEKA) tenders each year, Dönmez said.

The energy minister expects an increase in the share of renewable energy in the next 10 years...