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Türkiye’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar highlighted distributed generation as one of the strategic pillars of the 2040 vision at the National Energy 2040 launch on 5 November 2026. Bayraktar said wars and crises had made the “local generation, local consumption” approach vital and that the aim is to install small plants below 1 MW far more widely. According to the ministry, the share of renewables in installed capacity will rise to 77 percent by 2040.
Distributed generation becomes a strategic priority
Minister Bayraktar noted that energy infrastructure has become a primary target in wars and said making generation distributed carries strategic weight. The tools of the capacity plan include capacity allocations of up to 1 MW and the addition of hybrid capacity to existing plants.
These were listed, together with YEKA tenders of at least 2,000 MW every year, 6,000 MW of offshore wind, international projects, capacity increases and repowering, as routes to the 2040 installed capacity target. The ministry’s news release did not give a separate capacity target for solar.
Installed capacity to reach 281,000 MW
According to the ministry, Türkiye’s installed power capacity stood at around 123,000 MW as of 2025. The plan targets an increase of about 160,000 MW to 281,000 MW by 2040, lifting the renewable share from 63 percent to 77 percent. The investment needed for this capacity growth was put at around USD 190 billion.
Storage and grid needs
Stressing that storage is essential for system flexibility, Bayraktar said Türkiye needs 140 GWh of storage and 6 GW of pumped-storage hydropower. Transmission investment of USD 36 billion is foreseen; high-voltage lines will be extended from around 77,000 km to 112,000 km and transformer capacity raised from around 200,000 MW to 316,000 MW.
Bayraktar said 2036 will be a turning point for distribution, as many licences expire that year, and called for a change in mindset that treats citizens as valued customers.
Electrification target of 36 percent
Electrification sits at the centre of the programme. New electricity demand is expected to come from electric vehicles, data centres, green hydrogen production, heat pumps and water treatment, with the electrification rate targeted to reach 36 percent by 2040. Other targets include 92 percent domestic production and a 40 percent cut in emissions; the total investment need across the public and private sectors is USD 500 billion.
Bayraktar said the 2040 vision rests on five pillars: energy efficiency, nuclear energy, renewable energy, oil and natural gas, and mining. The presentation was made at a meeting held at the Presidential Dolmabahçe Office.
Sources
- Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, “İşte Türkiye’nin 2040 Enerji Hedefleri”, 05.11.2026: https://enerji.gov.tr/haber-detay?id=31962
- Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, National Energy 2040 launch presentation (PDF): Presentation
Images: Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources
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