Turkey’s Electricity Grid to Get $1 Billion Upgrade for Renewable Energy

Reuters

Multilateral lender Climate Investment Funds (CIF) has agreed to back a $1 billion plan to upgrade Turkey’s electricity grid so it can handle more renewable energy by providing seed investment to the project.

The CIF board agreed a $70 million investment from its Renewable Energy Integration (REI) investment platform with the goal of attracting another $790 million to expand and improve transmission infrastructure and $330 million for technology.

Ultimately, the plan, developed with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the World Bank, is to attract more than 15 times CIF’s contribution from other investors.

Ambitious Clean Energy Improvements

Turkey’s solar and wind resources would allow it to complete “one of the most ambitious clean energy improvements in the world,” CIF Chief Executive Tariye Gbadegesin said in a statement.

“Our support to develop a smart, flexible and responsive national grid will help prepare the country for such a rapid increase in intermittent wind and solar power.”

Modernization and Technological Improvements

The modernization includes strengthening connections and investing in smart grid upgrades. The technological improvements would include digitizing the distribution grid and increasing battery energy capacity.

Together, the improvements should allow Turkey’s power grid to integrate an additional 60 Gigawatts of wind and solar power capacity by 2035, CIF said, enough to power about 70 million homes for a year.

Turkey’s Commitment to Renewable Energy

Turkey’s Deputy Minister, Ministry of Treasury and Finance Osman Çelik, said the country is committed to boosting its renewable capacity in line with a target to achieve net zero emissions by 2053 and “green development goals.”

CIF’s approval of Turkey’s investment plan follows similar steps in other REI program countries Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Fiji, Kenya, and Mali.