Turkey's energy sector – electricity, gas & renewables
Energy sector
In 2012 Turkey ranked 20th in the world in terms of annual generation with 228.1 billion kWh and 19th in terms of installed capacity with 53,860 MW.
Peak load in 2012 was 39,045 MW.
Turkey has greatly expanded its generating capacity in recent decades; installed capacity grew from 407 MW in 1950 via 1,272 (1960), 2,234 (1970), 5,118 (1980), 16,317 (1990), 27,264 (2000) to 49,524 MW in 2010.
By 2023 generating capacity is to be doubled to 120,000 MW.
On 31 August 2014 the installed capacity of power plants in Turkey was 68,235.9 MW, of which gas-fired power plants accounted for 21,172.5 MW (31 %), coal-fired power plants for 14,034.3 MW (20.5 %), hydroelectric power plants for 23,322.6 MW (34.2 %), wind turbines for 3,380.2 MW (5 %) and other power plants for 6,326.2 MW (9.3 %). In 2017 wind turbines with a capacity of 6.9 GW were installed. By 2023, 30 % of electricity consumption is to be covered by renewable energies. To this end, the installed capacity of hydroelectric power plants is to be increased to 36 GW, that of wind turbines to 20 GW and that of photovoltaic systems to 3 GW.
The transmission grid in Turkey is operated by the state-owned Türkiye Elektrik İletim A.Ş. (TEİAŞ). Since 15 April 2015 the Turkish power grid has been connected to the European interconnected system. The first synchronisation took place on 18 September 2010; full connection was then achieved step by step. Turkey is connected to Bulgaria via two 400 kV lines and to Greece via another 400 kV line
Thermal power plants
The table lists only power plants with an installed capacity > 1,000 MW.
Name of power plant
Inst. capacity (MW)
Fuel
Status
Adapazari
Natural gas
in operation
Afsin A
Coal
Afsin B
Ambarli
Antalya
Bursa
Hamitabat
Iskenderun
Izmir
Soma
Sugözü
Zetes
Nuclear power plants
Name of power plant
Inst. capacity (MW)
Type
Status
Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant
VVER
under construction
Hydroelectric power plants
There are numerous hydroelectric power plants in Turkey. The table lists the 10 largest hydroelectric power plants by installed capacity.
Name of power plant
Inst. capacity (MW)
River
Status
Altınkaya
Kızılırmak
in operation
Atatürk
Euphrates
Berke
Ceyhan
Birecik
Deriner
Çoruh
Hasan-Uğurlu
Yeşilırmak
Ilısu
Tigris
under construction
Karakaya
Keban
Oymapınar
Manavgat
Wind farms
At the end of 2014 there were wind turbines (WT) in Turkey with an installed capacity of 3,762.5 MW.
According to The Wind Power, wind turbines with a total capacity of 4,718 MW were in operation in Turkey at the end of 2015.
As of October 2016, 152 wind farms are recorded in Turkey (some of them, however, are individual wind turbines).
The table lists the 5 largest wind farms by installed capacity.
Name of wind farm
Inst. capacity (MW)
Number
Status
Balikesir
in operation
Bandirma
Geycek
Karburun
Samli