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Türkiye’s Energy and Natural Resources Ministry has awarded 650 megawatts (MW) of new solar capacity under the country’s Renewable Energy Resource Zones (YEKA) program, in a round of tenders expected to unlock approximately $400 million in investment, Minister Alparslan Bayraktar announced Tuesday.
The eight-project auction, conducted as part of the YEKA 2025 series, received 77 bids from various energy investors. According to Bayraktar, the awarded capacity will help supply electricity to around 500,000 households and prevent an estimated 800,000 tons of carbon emissions.
YEKA — Türkiye’s framework for allocating pre-licensed zones for large-scale renewable energy investments — is designed to attract private-sector participation through competitive tenders and long-term offtake agreements, thereby accelerating the country’s clean energy transition.
Bayraktar said the government is exploring diverse business models, including systems designed for industrial self-consumption and battery-backed solar power to support Türkiye’s energy security. He emphasized that Türkiye holds substantial wind, solar, and geothermal potential, which it intends to realize through recurring annual tenders of at least 2,000 MW.
For the first time in Türkiye’s YEKA history, a floating solar power plant project is included. A 35 MW floating photovoltaic (PV) installation is set to be built on the Demirkopru Dam in Manisa province, which Bayraktar describes as a new milestone in maximizing land use efficiency.
The minister highlighted a strategic shift in the payment system for future projects, with pricing now based in euro cents rather than U.S. dollars. For solar, the minimum price has been set at €0.0325 ($0.038) per kilowatt-hour (kWh), while wind will be priced at €0.0350 per kWh.
The solar auctions concluded with an average contribution fee — a premium paid to the state — of €156,500 ($180,700) per MW, totaling roughly €101 million ($116.61 million). The revenue will be channeled into Türkiye’s Renewable Energy Support Mechanism (YEKDEM), which provides long-term incentives for clean energy development.
Bayraktar reiterated that expanding Türkiye’s renewable energy capacity through current and upcoming YEKA projects could eliminate over $2 billion in natural gas imports over their operational lifetime.
He also recalled that the ministry targets reaching 120,000 MW of installed solar and wind capacity by 2035, which would require Türkiye to add approximately 8,000 to 9,000 MW of new capacity annually. As of October, Türkiye had already added about 6,743 MW in new capacity this year and expects to reach the 8,000 MW mark by the end of December. Türkiye’s total installed power capacity now exceeds 121,000 MW, with solar and wind contributing 24,371 MW and 14,152 MW respectively — a combined 38,523 MW — together accounting for 31.8% of the national total.
Bayraktar reminded that Türkiye will host the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) in 2026 and emphasized the YEKA projects as emblematic of the country’s commitment to global climate goals and its energy transition efforts.
He added that the ministry plans to hold its next major auction — for 1,150 MW of wind energy — on December 11, as part of ongoing efforts to attract investors and meet Türkiye’s clean energy targets.
"These renewable energy tenders not only reduce our import dependency but also support our climate goals," Bayraktar said. "We’re committed to accelerating clean energy deployment across the country."
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