Tamer Çalışır emphasised that domestic coal is not a low-cost source of electricity and pointed to the challenges faced by gas-fired power plants amid the rapid expansion of renewables. İbrahim Erden underscored the geopolitical importance of offshore wind for Türkiye, and predicted new installation records in the coming years, highlighting a target of adding 5 GW of wind capacity annually. Elvan Tuğsuz Güven addressed solutions to drought-induced hydropower. Ateş Uğurel welcomed the rapid expansion of solar energy but noted that growth has been largely driven by utility-scale projects. He called for greater support for rooftop solar installations.
The panel also discussed the future of Türkiye’s 33 GW battery project pipeline, which currently well exceeds that of any single European Union country. While Uğurel and Çalışır expect that roughly half of the pipeline may be realised, Erden expressed greater optimism, particularly for storage-integrated wind projects. Güven also highlighted the role of existing reservoir hydropower capacity as a form of energy storage and questioned whether such a large volume of new battery capacity is necessary.
List of speakers:
- Ufuk Alparslan, Regional Lead, Ember
- Tamer Çalışır, President, Electricity Producers Association
- İbrahim Erden, President, Turkish Wind Energy Association
- Elvan Tuğsuz Güven, President, Turkish Hydropower Association
- Ateş Uğurel, Founder of Solarbaba
