Deputy Minister Demircan: We will increase national energy production to 92 percent

The World Energy Transformations Outlook session was held within the scope of the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) of the United Nations (UN) Framework Convention on Climate Change, hosted by Türkiye, in Antalya.

The session, opened by Francesco La Camera, Director General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), was moderated by Rebecca Williams, Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) from the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC).

Deputy Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Zafer Demircan, TÜREB President İbrahim Erden and GWEC CEO Ben Backwell attended the session as speakers.

In his speech, Demircan stated that in this period when it has become important for countries to reduce carbon emissions while also achieving self-sufficiency in the field of energy, Turkey believes that the solution lies in electrification.

Based on this, he reminded that the "National Energy 2040" vision was recently put forward and said, "In line with our National Energy 2040 vision, we will electrify every area of ​​our economy. Thus, while we will increase Türkiye's electricity installed power to 281 gigawatts in 2040, we will increase the rate of renewable energy in the electricity installed power to 77 percent. Our wind and solar energy installed power will reach 175 gigawatts in 2040." he said.

Demircan explained that 10 gigawatts of nuclear capacity will be reached in 2040 with Akkuyu, Sinop and Thrace Nuclear Power Plants and small modular reactors (SMR).

Stating that foreign dependence on fossil fuels will decrease while increasing electrification in the new period, Demircan said, "In 2040, we will meet all of our country's oil and natural gas consumption with domestic resources. In line with our National Energy 2040 vision targets, we will increase national energy production to 92 percent with a total investment of 500 billion dollars." made his assessment.

EMPHASIS ON NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE IN WIND INVESTMENTS

Erden explained that wind energy is a strategic area that strengthens energy supply security, reduces foreign dependency and contributes to the development of the domestic industry.

Stating that Türkiye has made significant progress with its potential in wind energy and the investments it has made in recent years, Erden said, "We have an installed capacity target of 48 thousand megawatts for 2035. In order to achieve this target, the investment environment must be strengthened, the network infrastructure must be developed and access to finance must be facilitated." he said.

Erden stated that organizing COP31 in Türkiye offers an important opportunity for the country to share its knowledge and goals in this field on the international platform.

MESSAGE OF SHARED COMMITMENT FROM GWEC FOR GLOBAL WIND ENERGY

Backwell also pointed out the target of reaching 18.4 terawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2035, announced within the scope of the WETO 2026 report published by IRENA, and said, "Evaluating wind energy together with solar energy, storage and network infrastructure is important for the success of the energy transformation. It contributes to the energy security of the sector, economic growth, industrial competitiveness and employment." he said.

At the GWEC Wind Turbine Signing Ceremony held after the session, Zafer Demircan, İbrahim Erden and Ben Backwell signed the symbolic wind turbine.

The turbine, which will be opened for signature by different stakeholders during COP31, represents the common goals of the global wind energy sector and its determination towards renewable energy.