Turkey to race ahead of EU on battery storage amid fossil fuel crisis
More than 33GW of battery capacity approved for Turkish grid since 2022 compared with 12-13GW in Germany
Turkey has given the green light to more batteries to buffer its electricity grid than any EU member state, a report has found, in a further sign of rich countries losing steam in the race to a clean economy.
More than 33GW of battery capacity have been approved in Turkey since 2022, according to the climate thinktank Ember, while the total planned and operational capacity in European frontrunners that started deploying them earlier, such as Germany and Italy, is 12-13GW.
The coal-hungry economy straddling Europe and Asia is among several developing countries witnessing a rapid boom in clean technology as prices fall and fossil fuels face further crises.
The findings come as diplomats prepare to descend on the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya in November, when Turkey hosts the Cop31 climate summit.
Ufuk Alparslan, an analyst at Ember and author of the report, said policy choices in Turkey had created a “massive investment signal” in battery storage that outstripped its European peers. “If delivered, Turkey’s battery pipeline will be the backbone of a new, clean regional energy hub.”
Turkey’s large number of projects is the result of a 2022 mandate that gives preferential grid access to renewables that are paired with an equal amount of storage. Of 221GW of battery storage in submitted applications, Turkey has approved 33GW, equivalent to 83% of its current wind and solar capacity, according to the report. Romania is the only EU country with a greater ratio. The Turkish projects mostly use one-hour batteries, providing 37GWh.
Greg Nemet, an energy researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who was not involved in the report, said the “dramatic” growth of solar and batteries in some countries, especially in the global south, had come as the cost of both had fallen by nearly 90% in the last decade.
“Cheap solar and batteries create a tremendous opportunity for creating a cheap, clean and reliable energy system,” he said. “Countries like Turkey are taking advantage of that.”
Turkey generates about a fifth of its power from wind and solar – well above any country in the Middle East or central Asia but below the European average – while continuing to back coal, which benefits from extensive subsidies and generated 34% of its electricity last year.
More than 33GW of battery capacity approved for Turkish grid since 2022 compared with 12-13GW in Germany
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Turkey is doing the right things, there isnot anythings more important than energy safety for an industry country.
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