Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar attended the launch meeting of the Türkiye Energy Policies Review Report prepared by the International Energy Agency (UEA). In addition to the Minister, International Energy Agency President Fatih Birol and guests attended the launch.
WE WANT TO EXPLAIN Türkiye'S NEW ENERGY ARCHITECTURE ON THE ROAD TO 2040
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar said, "We have three main goals in our energy policies in Turkey. These are also three goals that we have put forward in order to find solutions to the problems that Türkiye is facing. Demand, foreign dependency and Türkiye's goal of becoming a carbon neutral economy, the goal of decarbonization, which our President put forward for 2053. Before COP31, we, as Turkey, want to tell our own story to the world on the energy side. While telling this, it is revealed that Türkiye has a new path to 2040." "We want to explain the energy architecture and present it because this year is also important for us, as it is our national energy plan, we shared it with the public in 2021. Now we are reviewing that program this year and we aim to present it in a more comprehensive way, hopefully before the COP," he said.
'WE IN Türkiye ALSO BELIEVE 100 PERCENT IN ELECTRIFICATION IN THIS NEW ERA'
Minister Bayraktar said, "Electric vehicles are growing tremendously in the world, and in Türkiye, we believe 100 percent in electrification in this new period, and in fact, if you ask me what is in your new energy architecture, I would say electrification in one word. We will electrify Türkiye, we will increase electrification very seriously. The targets are high when we reach 2035 to achieve electrification, which is five per thousand in transportation, which is below 1 percent. We want 8 to 10 million electric vehicles to be on the roads in Türkiye. With more new brands, we are targeting a period where Türkiye's vehicle fleet will become largely electric. This means that the demand for electricity will increase tremendously. We have seen a 19-20 percent increase in electricity demand in Turkey last year. This does not only put a strain on the production side, but also puts a significant burden on the grid side. It shows that there may be at least 3-4 TWh of electricity demand in Türkiye towards the 40s. What do you say about the solution to these? In this report, we focus on electrification, renewable energy, energy efficiency and nuclear. The oil and natural gas exploration are also mentioned here, examples of Sakarya Gas Field and Gabar are given. These are our main policy tools, the main tools we focus on. "Our development in renewable energy is truly admirable, but the potential is greater. That's why we will put forward greater targets, and hopefully our President of Turkey will announce a more ambitious target to the world at COP 31 in Antalya," he said.
'Türkiye WANTS TO REACH A NUCLEAR CAPACITY OF 20 THOUSAND MW BY 2050'
Minister Bayraktar said, "Last year, Turkey commissioned a new installed capacity of over 8,200 MW in solar and wind. In addition, we have an important national energy efficiency action program in energy efficiency. The second one covers the years 2024-30. There, we have made important progress in all areas of the economy, in our industry, transportation, agriculture and buildings in other areas. But our preparation for the 3rd National Energy Efficiency Action Plan for 2030 and beyond is again one of the most important issues of this new energy architecture. Turkey wants to reach a nuclear capacity of 20 thousand MW by 2050. 20 thousand MW is a very ambitious target, but we believe that Turkey will find a different place for itself, especially in the new nuclear age in the world that started with the small modular reactor. Now we are looking for oil in Somalia, we are trying to produce a significant amount of oil and natural gas through the partnerships we have recently established in Libya and Iraq. Our goal is to turn Turkey's oil into a company that produces 1 million barrels of oil and natural gas per day. Our current estimates for the integration of so many renewables into the system and the integration of nuclear into the system are for 2040, but we need an investment of 80 billion dollars by 2035. We aim to increase the capacity of gasification facilities in natural gas infrastructure. We are currently talking about something that can enable some of Kuwait's oil or some of its oil in the GCC to be opened to world markets. "The Iraq-Türkiye pipeline has a daily capacity of 1.5 million barrels. We can increase this, but it is also important to actually use the existing one," he said.
'WE CAN TAKE NEW MEASURES'
Answering the questions of the press members about the agenda after the program, Minister Bayraktar stated that they are trying to protect the citizens with the Eşel Mobile System, natural gas and electricity subsidies and by not making any changes in prices, in response to a question about the Hormuz crisis, and said, "We continue this. Of course, we can take new measures depending on daily developments, that is, developments in the world."
WE ARE TRYING TO RAISE
Answering a question about the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, Minister Bayraktar stated that the first reactor in Akkuyu is in an intense testing process and said, "What was revealed in our esteemed President's last meeting with the esteemed Russian President; that is, the two countries, the entire working team, are currently working on commissioning this reactor in the next few months. There are hundreds of tests to be done. Therefore, all of them need to be completed. We are trying to make it on schedule."
