The 2040 target for wind and solar is 175 thousand megawatts of installed power

Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar spoke at the "National Energy 2040 Launch" in Istanbul.

Highlights from the statements of Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Bayraktar:

Energy is an area where we touch the lives of 86 million people every day. It is not possible to imagine a life without energy. Energy is also the most important driving force of our economy. The better quality, uninterrupted, sustainable and competitive energy you provide at competitive prices, the stronger your economy will be. Therefore, it is of utmost importance for us that our energy is strong in this newly changing world, a world where a great transformation is taking place and important fractures are taking place.

But we also have other motivations, namely while working on this program. The world is going through a major transformation. In other words, the energy world is changing, world economies are changing. The world is a world of crises and the new normal of our lives has become constantly ongoing crises. Look at the last 6 years. Here is the pandemic, the war that started right next to us in our region in 2022 between Russia and Ukraine, trade wars, tariff wars, conventional wars, conflicts, the war that started in Iran in February this year... All of these are really important crises, shocks, and as one crisis ends, another begins, or we are faced with a second crisis before one ends. In other words, the world is caught in a perfect storm. Therefore, many things are changing in our lives. According to these changes, we need to revise our current programs and set new goals.

Another source of motivation while doing this study; We are entering a new era in the world. The name of this new era is the Age of Artificial Intelligence. And we say that whatever we know about energy and economy will change in this age of artificial intelligence. In other words, we are experiencing a very important change and transformation process that will change our lives in all areas of the economy, radically change it and break the routine. Therefore, we need to prepare our country for this. Now, in the age of artificial intelligence, we have two important elements before us. First, critical mines... In other words, without mines, it is not possible to stand out in artificial intelligence or these new technologies without reaching an important stage in the mine. The second issue is that if your electricity infrastructure is not strong, it is not possible for you to be competitive in the age of artificial intelligence.

All these reasons came together and we have come to the point where we can present this work that took us months, hopefully, to you here. And we believe that we need a very strong energy infrastructure for a strong economy. We prepared this program accordingly. Because our country's economy is growing. As I just stated, we need such a comprehensive program and a strong energy infrastructure in order for our country to increase investments, employment, exports and production. We presented the National Energy and Mining Policy together in 2017. But now, in 2026, at this stage we are making the national energy presentation of 2040. Our target is related to the mining side, especially for 2027. We hope to make this statement to you, especially with the mining council. In other words, we are aiming for a similar launch in the mining section next year.

Now we have two main problems in energy. One is security of supply. In other words, all countries are making great efforts to ensure energy supply security. And especially in this world of crises we are talking about, it is becoming more and more difficult for countries to be self-sufficient and to ensure their energy supply security. A second issue is, of course, related to climate change. On the other hand, we are trying to meet our energy in a more sustainable and clean way and reduce our emissions.

Now, when we look at the supply side, Türkiye is a country with growing energy demand. When we look at where the demand is growing, in which direction, and with what factors; One, there are traditional factors. So, if your population is increasing, your economy is growing, and your urbanization continues, there is a demand for energy and electricity that this will bring to you. When we look at these, we see growth in Türkiye in all three. Urbanization still continues. According to TÜİK data, Türkiye's population will reach 91.5 million in 2040. I hope it will go higher because there is a serious decrease in our population growth rate. Our economy is growing. Again, according to the studies carried out by our Strategy and Budget Directorate, the Turkish economy will grow by an average of 4.4 percent until 2040. Today's gross domestic product will increase approximately 1.9 times. Therefore, we need to be able to supply the energy that this economy wants. But on the demand side, there are also unconventional growth demand factors.

Source: TRT Haber Ekonomi RSS (Open Press / Translated Full Text)