Energy Turkey needs $80bn for energy transition, says minister By Eva Levesque January 14, 2025, 12:43 PM SOPA Images via Reuters Alparslan Bayraktar, Turkey's energy minister, said the country also needs to invest $28 billion in the grid Bayraktar calls for energy investment Speaking at Irena assembly Carbon neutral by mid-century Turkey needs $80 billion to meet growing energy demand, which has tripled in the last two decades, the energy minister said on Monday. “We need to attract capital into our energy markets. We need to find new business solutions,” Alparslan Bayraktar said at the International Renewable Energy Agency assembly in Abu Dhabi, adding that the country imports two-thirds of its energy needs. “Now we have a greater challenge of becoming a carbon neutral economy at the beginning of the mid-century. Obviously, renewables are addressing these challenges. Turkey plans to quadruple its installed capacity of renewables by 2035 and reach 120GW of solar and wind, Bayraktar said, while nuclear power will complement the strategy. He said the country will need a significant amount of investment for this to become a reality, “around like $80 billion”. The country has developed 32GW of renewable capacity, including solar, wind, geothermal and biomass. Ankara has also reduced energy intensity by over 30 percent in the past 20 years. The country achieved an energy savings rate of 4.5 percent in 2023, beating the global average of 1 percent. “We have a very ambitious renewable programme,” Bayraktar said, adding that Turkey will also need to invest around $28 billion in the grid over the next decade. Turkey to triple cross-border electricity links Turkey to invest $20bn to promote energy efficiency “The grid is becoming even more crucial and vital for this transition, while the regional cooperation is ‘the key thing’,” he said. The country is trying to triple its interconnection with neighbouring markets, Bayraktar said. “We are currently supplying power to Iraq, and soon we are going to continue to increase our supply to Syria. Hopefully, we will have stability in the region.”