Turkey: The Ministry of Energy has announced 16 new YEKA auctions

published on October 27, 2025

“YEKA” is the abbreviation for areas designated by the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources as areas for the use of renewable energy sources.

On September 9, 2025, a total of 16 YEKA auctions were announced in the official gazette, which concern the provision of grid connection capacities for wind and solar power plants; 850 MWe for PV plants (the implementation of a floating PV plant project is planned for the first time), 1150 MW for wind turbines.

Applications for PV plants will be accepted on November 4, 2025, and for wind turbines on November 18, 2025, between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. (GMT + 3) in Ankara. Application documents must be submitted in person. The location and date of the auctions will be announced at a later date on the ministry's website.

Corporations in the form of an AG or GmbH under Turkish law, joint ventures, or corporations established abroad (e.g., German AG or GmbH) are eligible to participate.

The maximum price for a total of 16 auctions is €5.50/kWh, with the minimum price for PV systems being €3.25/kWh and for wind turbines €3.50/kWh. If the minimum price is reached in the auctions, the starting price for the increase in the contribution rate per MW is €10,000.00. The prices offered and the contribution rate are subject to 20 percent VAT. This means that YEKA auctions are essentially downward auctions.

The currency of the auctions is the euro. Furthermore, the contracts provide for an ICC arbitration agreement in the case of foreign involvement. This is intended to promote foreign investment.

From the date of signing the contract, the electricity generated by the PV plant can be sold on the free market for 60 months, and the electricity generated by the wind turbine for 72 months. This is followed by a 20-year electricity purchase period for both power generation plants. The fees paid to the grid operator during the electricity purchase period are reimbursed to the auction winner under the YEKDEM mechanism.

The areas and grid connection capacities announced in the Official Journal are as follows:

Name of the YEKA Auction for PV Plants	Grid Connection Capacity (MWe)
Bolu GES	50
Elazığ GES	50
Erzurum 1 GES	100
Erzurum 2 GES	150
Erzurum 3 GES	85
Eskişehir GES	260
Kahramanmaraş GES	40
Mardin GES	40
Van GES	40
Demirköprü Yüzer GES (= Floating PV-Plant)	35

Name of YEKA Auction for Wind Power Plant	Connection Capacity (MWe)
Sivas RES	500
Balıkesir 1 RES	160
Balıkesir 2 RES	120
Balıkesir 3 RES	110
Aydın-Denizli RES	140
Kütahya RES	120

Furthermore, the auctions are subject to the following conditions:

For PV systems:

Payment of a tender documentation fee of TRY 75,000.00 per auction,
At the time of application, provision of an irrevocable bank guarantee in the amount of €15,000.00/MWe per auction, validity of the bank guarantee 1 year,
Upon award, provision of an irrevocable bank guarantee in the amount of €75,000.00/MWe per auction, no later than 1 day before signing the contract, validity of the bank guarantee 10 years (in this case, the bank guarantee provided at the time of application will be refunded).

For wind power plants:

Payment of a tender documentation fee of TRY 75,000.00 per auction.
At the time of application, provision of an irrevocable bank guarantee in the amount of €20,000.00/MWe per auction, with a validity period of 1 year.
Upon award, provision of an irrevocable bank guarantee in the amount of €100,000.00/MWe per auction, no later than 1 day before signing the contract, validity of the bank guarantee 10 years (in this case, the bank guarantee provided at the time of application will be refunded).

Further tender conditions and draft contracts are published on the ministry's website.

Foreign corporations participating in the auctions and awarded a contract are required to establish a Turkish corporation in which they hold 100 percent of the shares by the time the contract is signed. The articles of association of this corporation must contain specific provisions. For example, the company's purpose must contain specific wording and the amount of capital must be based on the investment value determined by the Energy Regulatory Authority (at the time of applying for the pre-license, generally 5 percent of the investment value; at the time of applying for the production license, generally 20 percent of the investment value).

Interested parties should carry out feasibility studies in good time, design financing models that take CAPEX and OpEX into account, and visit the project area. In this context, it should be noted that, in addition to the tender conditions and draft contracts, the location coordinates and the ministry's comments on the grid connection are also published in a transparent manner.