As a country experiencing rapid economic and industrial growth, and a continuously growing population, Turkey has an ever-increasing energy need and demand. Although Turkey’s geographical location is very close to many oil and gas-rich countries in the Middle East, the country’s domestic natural energy sources are not self-sufficient. Accordingly, net energy imports into the country have been on the rise since the 90s, reaching an import volume of nearly 5,200 petajoules in 2022. Moreover, the volume of electricity imports into the country recorded the second-highest value in 2023, with 6.1 terawatt hours.
As a country with a substantial foreign gas and oil-dependency, Turkey’s energy transition is important not only for mitigating climate change and supporting environmental sustainability but also for accelerating economic development and tackling import dependency. The renewable energy capacity in the country constantly increased in the past 15 years, measuring roughly 58.5 gigawatts in 2023. Among the various renewables, hydro was the most used renewable energy source for electricity generation.
Fossil fuels and renewable energy
Turkey’s electricity generation has generally increased since 1985 and reached above 326 terawatt hours in 2022. Led by natural gas, fossil fuels were the main sources of energy generation in the country for many years.As a country with a substantial foreign gas and oil-dependency, Turkey’s energy transition is important not only for mitigating climate change and supporting environmental sustainability but also for accelerating economic development and tackling import dependency. The renewable energy capacity in the country constantly increased in the past 15 years, measuring roughly 58.5 gigawatts in 2023. Among the various renewables, hydro was the most used renewable energy source for electricity generation.
