Turkey unveils $500bn energy plan with no coal exit

Turkey unveiled a $500 billion energy roadmap on Friday that aims for self-sufficiency by 2040, but Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar gave no clear timeline for leaving coal.

The National Energy Plan was presented days before the UN COP31 climate summit opens in Antalya. Turkey plans to electrify more of its economy, expand renewable power and pursue new oil and gas investments while working toward its 2053 net-zero target.

Bayraktar said Turkey aimed to reduce emissions by 40 percent by 2040 and would need “a big paradigm shift” away from diesel and gasoline toward electricity.

Under the plan, Turkey aims to meet 36 percent of its energy needs from electricity by 2040, up from about 22 percent today. Installed power capacity would rise from 123 gigawatts in 2025 to 281 gigawatts, while the renewable share would increase from 63 percent to 77 percent. Wind and solar capacity would grow from 45 gigawatts to 175 gigawatts.

Bayraktar said Turkey also wanted to produce more oil and gas at home and abroad, including by doubling production at its Black Sea gas field to 7.5 billion cubic metres in 2027. He said the plan would require half a trillion dollars in investment by 2040, including $210 billion from five public-sector companies and the rest through foreign investment.

Asked about coal, Bayraktar said Turkey needed it for security of supply and jobs, and said nuclear power was key to replacing it. He said it would take until 2030 to know whether Turkey would have enough nuclear power by 2040 to replace coal.

Turkey plans to open its first nuclear power plant at Akkuyu on the Mediterranean coast, with the first reactor scheduled to come online by the end of the year. Bayraktar said Turkey was also planning plants at Sinop and in Thrace, and was in talks with Canada, South Korea's Kepco, Russia's Rosatom and China.