The Ministry plans to add 7.5 gigawatts of battery capacity by 2035, a step Erol says will significantly enhance grid security and flexibility.
From generation to technology leadership
At the same time, Türkiye’s renewable push has been closely tied to industrial localisation.
Today, the country is among Europe’s leading suppliers of wind turbine towers, blades, and generators. Local content ratios in wind projects now exceed 70 percent, and in some technologies are even higher.
“We are not merely producing electricity,” Erol explains. “By combining the power of the wind with advanced technology, we are turning Türkiye into Europe’s clean energy hub.”
President of TESPAM –Türkiye Energy Strategies & Politics Research Centre – Oguzhan Akyener emphasises the long arc of policy behind today’s records.
“Türkiye”, he says, has been taking “decisive and consistent steps” in renewable energy for more than 15 years. Incentives, investment models, and the creation of a liberal market mechanism — coupled with a highly organised approach to transmission and distribution — have opened significant opportunities for investors and allowed installed capacity to multiply.
When measured against international benchmarks, Akyener explains, Türkiye now stands well above both global and European averages in terms of renewable capacity, the share of renewables in electricity generation, and per capita renewable energy production.
“Türkiye has moved beyond the European average,” he tells TRT World, “and has become one of the best countries in Europe in this field.”
He also highlights the country’s success in domestic manufacturing. Across nearly all renewable energy technologies, local production ratios exceed 90 percent, with solar approaching 100 percent and wind above 90 percent.
These achievements, he says, strongly support Türkiye’s macro-level energy targets and position the country not only as an energy producer, but as a technology developer.
Looking ahead, Akyener points to next-generation wind technologies and offshore wind as areas where Türkiye aims to deepen its technological capabilities.
He refers to nuclear power, noting that while it is not renewable, it is considered part of the clean energy spectrum.
With the commissioning of the Akkuyu plant, potential new reactor projects, and advances in small modular and micro-scale reactor technologies, he says that Türkiye could further strengthen its clean energy portfolio.
As a result, the record-breaking wind generation of early 2026 underscores a deeper transformation rather than a temporary surge.
Türkiye’s energy transition is increasingly defined by long-term planning, domestic technology development, and a strategic understanding of energy as both an economic and security priority.
As wind, solar, storage, and emerging technologies converge under a coherent national vision, the country is positioning itself not only to meet its climate commitments but also to reduce external dependence and expand its industrial base.
Whether these ambitions translate into sustained global leadership will depend on continued investment discipline and policy continuity, but the direction is clear: Türkiye is no longer on the margins of the green transition — it is actively shaping it.