Türkiye and Saudi Arabia have signed a major agreement to build large-scale solar power plants that will be capable of supplying electricity to more than two million homes. The signing ceremony took place in Istanbul and follows a $2 billion intergovernmental energy agreement reached during President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to Riyadh on February 3. The new project marks another step forward in strengthening energy cooperation between the two countries.
Under the agreement, Türkiye’s Energy and Natural Resources Ministry and Saudi-based energy company ACWA Power will develop two solar power plants in the central provinces of Sivas and Karaman. The combined installed capacity of the projects will reach 2,000 megawatts. Officials said this level of generation will be enough to meet the electricity demand of around 2.1 million households.
During the ceremony, a power purchase agreement was also signed between Turkish Electricity Generation Corporation (EÜAŞ) and ACWA Power. Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar described the initiative as one of the largest domestic and foreign investments ever made in Türkiye’s energy sector. He said the country would secure electricity at the lowest price achieved so far through this project.
Bayraktar also highlighted the importance of local production in the development process. He stated that the localization rate will be at least 50 percent in both Sivas and the Taşeli region. According to him, international financial institutions such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the International Finance Corporation have shown interest in financing the projects.
Construction is expected to begin this year, with the foundations to be laid soon. Bayraktar said both plants are planned to enter commercial operation by early 2028 and reach full capacity as quickly as possible. He added that the second phase of the broader 5,000-megawatt agreement will include an additional 3,000 megawatts of solar and wind power investments.
Türkiye has been rapidly expanding its renewable energy sector in recent years. Bayraktar noted that 62 percent of the country’s newly installed electricity capacity last year came from renewable sources. He said Türkiye has increased its solar and wind capacity from almost zero in the past to more than 40,000 megawatts today, and the country has even greater potential to develop clean energy.
The government aims to raise solar and wind capacity to 120,000 megawatts by 2035. Türkiye is also targeting net zero emissions by 2053. Officials say expanding renewable energy will help reduce dependence on imported energy and provide more affordable electricity for consumers.
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