Solar power in Turkey
Turkey’s sunny climate possesses a high solar energy potential, specifically in the South Eastern Anatolia and Mediterranean regions.
[8]: 9 Every gigawatt of solar power installed would save over US$100 million on gas import costs,[9] and more of the country's electricity might be exported.
[13] Ember says there is technical potential for 120 GW of rooftop solar, almost 10 times 2023 capacity, which they say could generate 45% of the country’s 2022 demand.
[22] Systems producing over 5 megawatts (MW) of power must be licensed by the Energy Market Regulatory Authority[18] if they feed into the grid.
[18] Since 2021 feed-in tariffs for new installations have been in lira (but are maximum about US$0.05 per kWh[17]) and set by the president,[23] but the 10-year period has been criticised as too short.
By accepting the lowest bid the government commits to buy at that price per kWh for a fixed number of years, or up to a certain total amount of power.
[43] The tender included a 60% foreign exchange weight clause, which partly protects against currency volatility,[43] and selling on the open market is also allowed.
[44][45] According to a May 2022 report from think tank Ember wind and solar saved 7 billion dollars on gas imports in the preceding 12 months.
[1] Installed domestic hot water systems are typically convection without pumping, with 2 flat plate collectors, each nearly 2 m².
[53] In 2021 the IEA recommended that the Turkish government should support solar water heating because "technology and infrastructure quality needs to improve significantly to maximise its potential".
[38] Monthly average efficiencies are from 12–17% depending on tilt and climate type; specific yield decreases with elevation.
[58] As of 2020[update], unlike in the EU, obsolete solar panels are not classified as electronic waste and recycling criteria are not defined.
[69] If total electricity generated by solar panels exceeds 50% of the capacity of the local distribution transformer no more will be approved in that area.
As of 2019[update], the payback period of rooftop solar with net metering for homeowners and businesses was estimated at 11 years; removal of VAT and the fixed government approval fee, and attaching borrowing for installation to the property's mortgage has been suggested to shorten this.
[73] Aluminium producer Tosyalı [tr] claimed in 2022 to be installing the world's largest rooftop solar power system on the roofs of its buildings.
[74] Farmers are financially supported to install solar panels, for example to power irrigation pumps, and can sell some electricity.
[64] Mehmet Bulut of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources suggested in 2021 that concentrated solar power (CSP) could be co-located with photovoltaics in the south-east.
