(MENAFN) Türkiye has successfully doubled its solar power capacity to over 19 gigawatts in just two and a half years, surpassing its 2025 target by August 2024, according to a new report released on Tuesday. This achievement was reached 1.5 years ahead of the original schedule, as reported by the London-based energy think tank Ember.

The report highlighted that the increased generation of electricity from wind and solar energy has played a key role in reducing gas imports, saving the country USD15 billion in energy costs. Specifically, solar energy alone contributed 6 percent of Türkiye’s total electricity supply, helping avoid USD5.4 billion in gas imports over the past two and a half years.

The rapid growth of solar energy in Türkiye has been largely driven by unlicensed self-consumption projects, which have been led by households and businesses looking to reduce their reliance on the national grid. Additionally, planned investments in various solar technologies, including rooftop systems, storage-integrated projects, floating solar farms, and hybrid systems known as "solar-as-secondary-source," are expected to continue driving this growth.

This progress aligns with Türkiye’s broader goal of increasing its combined wind and solar energy capacity from 30 gigawatts to 120 gigawatts by 2035, a move aimed at further reducing dependence on imported energy and advancing sustainable energy production.

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