Turkey: Renewable Energy: Opportunities for Investors in a Dynamic Market Environment

Turkey is becoming a growth market for renewable energy
Roadmap 2035, YEKA and YEKDEM provide new investment impetus
Storage and self-consumption are becoming more important for industrial projects
Legal structuring remains crucial for investors

Gökhan Demirel

Manager

Attorney at Law, Attorney at Law (Germany)

T +90 (212) 310 14 33

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Hidir Altinok

Senior Associate

Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Supply Engineering, M.Sc. Renewable Energy Systems

T +49 911 9193 1926

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Turkey, an important economic partner for Germany and the EU, is undergoing a profound energy policy transformation. Rising energy demand, volatile prices, new climate and efficiency requirements, and the expansion of renewable energies are increasing the strategic importance of the energy market. With a view to decarbonization, investments in energy and infrastructure, and the UN Climate Change Conference COP31 in Antalya in 2026, we shed light on current developments, regulatory changes, and opportunities for investors.

Turkey’s regulatory framework for climate and energy is currently developing very dynamically. This is driven by international obligations, growing demands from important trading partners, and national energy and economic policy targets.

For companies, these developments lead to increased requirements in the areas of climate and energy efficiency. At the same time, however, many new market opportunities are opening up for German and international companies and investors.

Climate change as an additional impetus for the energy transition

The impacts of climate change are increasingly noticeable in Turkey. Heatwaves, water scarcity, forest fire risks, and heavy rainfall events pose new challenges for companies, infrastructure, and energy supply.

However, for the Turkish economy, this not only means additional pressure to adapt. At the same time, the necessity to make energy supply, production processes, and supply chains more resilient and sustainable in the long term is increasing. Especially export-oriented companies must now incorporate climate risks, rising energy costs, and European decarbonization requirements more strongly into their strategic decisions.

Thus, the expansion of renewable energies becomes a central component of economic transformation. Solar and wind energy can help strengthen supply security, reduce dependence on fossil energy imports, and open up new investment opportunities for national and international market participants.

Turkish Regulation in Transition

With the ratification of the Paris Agreement in 2021 and the target of climate neutrality by 2053, Turkey has set the political framework for its long-term decarbonization strategy. At the same time, institutional structures are being strengthened, including through the expansion of the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization to include specific responsibilities in climate change mitigation. The upcoming COP31 in Antalya, for which Turkey has applied to host, gives these commitments additional international visibility and momentum. Individual decarbonization targets for CO₂-intensive industries have also been set:

Figure 1: Decarbonization targets by industry until 2053¹

The following overview provides insight into Turkey’s current energy and climate strategy.

Climate Change Mitigation Strategy & Action Plan 2024-2030¹	Target: Reduction of CO₂ emissions by 41% by 2030 Long-term framework: Climate neutrality by 2053 Scope: 49 strategies and 260 actions for emission reduction Core actions: Increasing energy efficiency, using green hydrogen, and expanding Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) Preparation and gradual implementation of a national Emissions Trading System (ETS) that will reflect CO₂ emissions as a cost factor in the future and prospectively enable alignment with the EU ETS
Renewable Energy Roadmap 2035	Target: Quadrupling installed wind and solar capacity to a total of 120 GW by 2035 Starting point: approximately 30 GW installed wind and solar capacity Commissioning of at least 7,500 – 8,000 MW of installed capacity per year² Focus: Acceleration of approval processes, expansion of grid infrastructure, and stronger involvement of private investments (Tenders for large-scale projects)
YEKA Program	Target: Annual tender for at least 2,000 MW of additional wind and solar capacity 2025: 16 YEKA auctions (provision of grid connection capacities for wind and solar plants) announced: 850 MW for PV plants (for the first time, the implementation of a Floating PV plant project is planned), 1150 MW for wind power plants
YEKDEM System	Support mechanism for electricity generation from renewable energy sources Fixed purchase guarantees and feed-in tariffs for operators of eligible plants Funding period generally for YEK-certified plants commissioned between 2021-07-01 and 2030-12-31 Duration of the purchase guarantee: generally 10 years, subject to technology-based special regulations Additional remuneration for the use of domestic components
Storage Technologies and Legal Structuring	Battery storage systems are gaining increasing importance alongside wind and solar energy. They facilitate the integration of fluctuating renewable energies into the grid, increase supply security, and can make industrial self-consumption models more economically attractive. For investors, careful legal structuring is crucial. Depending on the project model, it must be examined whether licensed electricity generation or license-free generation, especially for self-consumption models, is an option. Grid connection capacity, land and usage rights, environmental permits, technical requirements, as well as project, construction, and operating contracts should be coordinated early on
Sustainability Reporting (TSRS)³ ⁴	Mandatory for certain larger companies since 2024 Current thresholds: Exceeding at least two of the following three criteria over two consecutive reporting periods: – Total assets: 1 billion TRY – Annual net sales revenue: 2 billion TRY – Average number of employees: 500 employees Orientation towards international standards, particularly IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 Focus on transparency regarding emissions, risks, and sustainability actions
Climate Law 2025⁵	Turkey’s first comprehensive climate law; adopted in July 2025 and published in the Commercial Register Gazette Creates the legal basis for a national Emissions Trading System Establishment of institutional governance structures for climate policy, ETS, CBAM, and national carbon markets Provides for the targeted use of revenues for climate change mitigation, industrial transformation, and social compensation measures

Funding Programs

To accelerate the expansion of renewable energies and the green transformation of industry, Turkey employs various funding and incentive mechanisms. These can support companies, for example, in investments in solar plants, wind energy projects, battery storage, energy-efficient machinery, or the modernization of energy-intensive production processes.

Depending on the project, such instruments can take different forms, such as investment grants, tax and customs benefits, feed-in tariffs, purchase guarantees, or the allocation of grid connection capacities within the framework of tenders.

For companies, these measures can help reduce investment costs, make energy costs more predictable, and reduce the CO₂ intensity of production.

Thus, funding programs become not only a climate policy instrument but also an important economic factor for investors, project developers, and export-oriented industrial companies

European Requirements and Strategic Energy Partnership

For European companies, cooperation with reliable energy and production partners is becoming increasingly important. Turkey can play a significant role due to its geographical proximity, its close economic ties with the EU, and its potential in the field of renewable energies.

Against this background, Turkey faces not only pressure to adapt but also the opportunity to position itself as a strategic location for renewable energies, industrial production, and green value chains. For export-oriented companies, CO₂ transparency, renewable energy supply, and energy-efficient production processes are thus increasingly becoming competitive factors in the European market.

Conclusion

Turkey is currently in a phase of intensive regulatory adjustments in the field of electricity generation. With the EPDK’s decision of February 26, 2026, additional grid connection capacities were opened for license-free wind and solar projects. At the same time, recent developments in license-free electricity generation and integrated storage solutions show that the interplay of renewable electricity generation, self-consumption, and energy storage is to be further strengthened in the future. This makes it clear that renewable energies in Turkey are gaining increasing importance not only regulatorily but also economically.

At RÖDL, we support companies in developing tailored decarbonization strategies and effectively addressing regulatory and funding-related issues in Turkey and in an international context.

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Sources:

1 UNFCCC – Türkiye 2053 – Long Term Climate Strategy
2 T.C. Enerji ve Tabii Kaynaklar Bakanlığı – Enerji Dönüşümü: Yenilenebilir Enerji 2035
3 https://www.gtai.de/de/trade/tuerkei/recht/nachhaltigkeitsberichterstattung-in-der-tuerkei-1917566
4 TSRS – Turkish Sustainability Reporting Standards | RÖDL
5 ICAP: Türkiye adopts landmark climate law