Türkiye’s allocation of 2,285 megawatts of wind and solar capacity is expected to trigger $1.9 billion in new investment, giving international developers, equipment suppliers and lenders a fresh entry point into one of Europe’s fastest-growing electricity markets. Yet the results also show that the real opportunity extends beyond winning a government auction. Foreign investors will need to manage local-content rules, merchant-price exposure, permitting, grid constraints and Turkish project structures before the announced capacity becomes operating generation.
The 2026 Tender Results
The Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources awarded connection capacity for 18 Renewable Energy Resource Zone projects, known by the Turkish acronym YEKA, through separate wind and solar competitions held on November 2 and 3, 2026.
Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said the projects would generate approximately 6.1 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually and reduce natural gas imports by about 1.22 billion cubic metres a year. The ministry estimates that construction will bring $1.9 billion of investment into Türkiye.
That figure should be understood as expected capital expenditure rather than investment already transferred or committed at financial close. The winning companies must still sign their YEKA agreements, complete development work, secure permits and financing, procure compliant equipment, build grid connections and commission their plants.
The wind round allocated 1,500 MW across seven sites in Sivas, Balıkesir, Manisa and Kütahya. According to the ministry, 12 companies submitted 29 applications. Every winning bid reached the floor electricity price of 3.50 euro cents per kilowatt-hour, after which competition shifted to the contribution fees that developers were willing to pay for the capacity rights.
Metgün Enerji won the largest single wind allocation, a 320 MW project in Sivas. Egesa secured 470 MW across two projects, while Fe Girişim won two Balıkesir sites totalling 310 MW. Poyraz Yenilenebilir and Ecogreen obtained the remaining allocations. The wind winners pledged €62.92 million in contribution fees before value-added tax, or €75.5 million including VAT.
The solar competition allocated 785 MW across 11 sites in nine provinces, including Ankara, Konya, Kahramanmaraş, Diyarbakır and Mardin. Nineteen companies submitted 44 applications, and all successful offers reached the floor price of 3.25 euro cents per kilowatt-hour.
Egesa won 345 MW across three southeastern projects, while Temmuz Güneş obtained 165 MW in Denizli and Kahramanmaraş. İş Enerji secured the 110 MW Konya project. The other winners included Erser Grup, İklim Invest, Ezel Mensucat and Ecogreen. Solar contribution fees totalled €31.585 million before VAT and €37.9 million including VAT.
Together, therefore, the two rounds generated about €113.4 million in contribution payments including VAT. These payments go to the state and are separate from the $1.9 billion expected to be spent on project development and construction.
Why the Revenue Model Attracted Bidders
The YEKA structure combines an initial merchant-market period with a long-term, euro-denominated purchase arrangement. Wind projects may sell their electricity on the free market for 72 months after signing their agreements, while solar projects receive a 60-month merchant period. Electricity is then supplied to the transmission system for 20 years at the auction price.
This design offers two distinct revenue phases. During the first five or six years, developers can benefit if Turkish wholesale electricity prices exceed their long-term auction prices. The subsequent purchase period provides a predictable euro-linked revenue base that may support long-tenor project financing.
The structure is particularly relevant in Türkiye because construction expenditure can include imported or foreign-currency-linked components, while many domestic financing and operating costs are denominated in Turkish lira. A euro-based offtake price reduces part of the long-term currency mismatch, although it does not eliminate inflation, interest-rate, construction-cost or refinancing risks.
The fact that all winning projects reached the price floors indicates that bidders were willing to accept the lowest permitted long-term tariffs. Competition was instead expressed through contribution fees. At the 140 MW Balıkesir-4 wind project, for example, Fe Girişim offered €154,000 per MW. By contrast, the 235 MW Balıkesir-2 site attracted no contribution payment, reflecting differences in competition, resource quality, land conditions, connection costs and expected project economics.
For investors assessing acquisitions or minority stakes, the contribution fee cannot be treated as the only premium paid for development rights. Valuation must also account for wind or solar resource data, expected market prices during the merchant period, curtailment exposure, local-content costs, financing terms and the project’s probability of reaching commercial operation.
A Small Step Toward a 120 GW Target
The 2.285 GW allocation is material, but it represents only one annual instalment in Türkiye’s larger energy transition.
The government’s Renewable Energy 2035 strategy targets 120 GW of combined wind and solar capacity by 2035. The International Energy Agency reported in September 2026 that solar capacity is expected to almost quadruple between 2024 and 2035, while wind capacity is expected to triple. Türkiye also plans to add 7.5 GW of battery storage to improve system flexibility.
Invest Türkiye reported that combined wind and solar capacity had reached more than 36 GW by mid-2025. Anadolu Agency subsequently reported that the figure rose to 42.5 GW by July 2026. Even from that higher base, the country must add roughly 77.5 GW to reach the 2035 objective, requiring average annual additions far above the capacity allocated in the latest tender.
The IEA said renewables supplied 43% of Turkish electricity generation in 2025 and could reach 55% by 2035. The expansion is being driven partly by electricity demand that grew by almost 5% annually between 2005 and 2024, the fastest rate among IEA member countries. Industrial electrification, population growth, cooling demand and new digital infrastructure are likely to keep consumption rising.
Renewables also serve an energy-security objective. A 2025 World Bank project appraisal estimated that Türkiye remained dependent on imports for nearly 75% of its energy needs. The ministry’s gas-saving calculation for the latest tenders illustrates the economic logic, although actual savings will depend on renewable output, gas prices and which power plants are displaced in hourly dispatch.
The projects are also relevant to industrial decarbonisation. Türkiye’s first Climate Law, adopted in July 2025, created the legal basis for a national emissions trading system. The IEA expects the system to cover the power and industrial sectors from 2027. At the same time, Turkish exporters in carbon-intensive industries face the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. More renewable generation can support lower-carbon electricity procurement, although auctioned power supplied into the national grid does not automatically provide an individual industrial buyer with exclusive environmental attributes.
Grid Capacity Is Becoming the Critical Constraint
Awarding generation rights is only one part of Türkiye’s challenge. Connecting tens of gigawatts of variable renewable energy will require transmission lines, substations, storage, forecasting systems and more flexible market rules.
The government’s roadmap estimates that $28 billion of transmission investment will be needed by 2035. It envisages 14,700 kilometres of high-voltage direct-current lines, approximately 15,000 kilometres of alternating-current infrastructure and 40 converter stations.
In August 2025, the World Bank approved a financing package worth approximately $748 million, including funding from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Clean Technology Fund. The programme is intended to modernise substations, transmission lines and digital control systems while directly enabling 1.7 GW of renewable capacity.
The World Bank’s appraisal also highlighted the scale of the financing gap. It said the Turkish Electricity Transmission Corporation, TEİAŞ, would need to raise annual investment substantially above its historical level and diversify beyond short-term domestic borrowing. Without planned upgrades, the bank warned that identified renewable projects could face curtailment or remain unable to connect.
A further €400 million World Bank package approved in June 2026 supports distributed wind, solar and commercial battery storage through the Development and Investment Bank of Türkiye and the Industrial Development Bank of Türkiye. World Bank Country Director Humberto Lopez described storage and distributed wind as the next critical step in future-proofing the grid.
For international investors, grid due diligence must therefore extend beyond possession of a nominal connection allocation. Technical studies should test connection schedules, substation readiness, congestion risk, curtailment provisions, metering arrangements and responsibility for network reinforcement. Project-management capability will be especially important where generation construction must be synchronised with public transmission works.
Local Content Shapes the FDI Opportunity
The latest awards went principally to Turkish companies, but that does not exclude foreign capital. International participation can enter through joint ventures, project finance, equipment manufacturing, engineering contracts, technology licensing or the acquisition of stakes in successful developers.
The 2026 specifications nevertheless make localisation central to the investment model. According to a September 2026 analysis by law firm Balcıoğlu Selçuk Ardıyok Keki, solar modules must achieve at least 75% local content, while DC cables, mounting structures and inverters are subject to minimum local-content rates of 51%. Solar cells used in compliant modules must also undergo specified manufacturing stages in Türkiye.
For wind projects, turbines must be manufactured or supplied through factories in Türkiye, including facilities in free zones, and the turbine package must achieve a minimum local-content score of 55%.
These provisions shift the FDI proposition from simple equipment exports toward local manufacturing, supplier partnerships and technology transfer. A foreign original-equipment manufacturer may need to qualify Turkish suppliers, establish an incorporated subsidiary or joint venture, adapt procurement contracts and document origin and production processes. Import-export planning remains relevant for components that can still be sourced internationally, but customs classification, certification, VAT treatment and delivery schedules must be coordinated with domestic-content compliance.
Permitting creates another execution layer. Developers must navigate energy-market approvals, environmental assessments, zoning and construction permissions, land acquisition or usage rights, forestry or agricultural restrictions where applicable, and TEİAŞ connection procedures. Government relations and regulatory liaison become substantive project functions because responsibilities are distributed across national agencies, municipalities and local administrations.
What This Means for Foreign Investors
The 2026 tenders confirm that Türkiye can offer a pipeline of utility-scale renewable projects with long-term euro-linked revenue and strong underlying electricity demand. They do not, by themselves, remove development risk. The $1.9 billion headline will become realised investment only as projects progress through contracts, permits, financing, procurement, grid connection and construction.
Foreign investors considering the sector should first decide whether to pursue future YEKA rounds directly, partner with a Turkish developer, acquire an interest in an awarded project, or enter through manufacturing and engineering. That market-entry decision should be supported by site-level resource analysis, merchant-price scenarios and a clear assessment of contribution fees and local-content costs.
A Turkish project company and suitable shareholder structure will normally be required to hold rights, raise finance, contract with suppliers and manage tax obligations. Company incorporation and corporate structuring should therefore be aligned with financing security, dividend repatriation, related-party contracting and any planned local partnership.
Investment-incentive analysis should cover manufacturing as well as generation. Equipment facilities, regional investments and research or technology activities may qualify under different programmes, but eligibility, documentation and implementation conditions must be confirmed before capital expenditure is committed.
Legal and tax compliance must address the YEKA agreement, electricity-market rules, environmental approvals, VAT, customs, transfer pricing and future carbon-market obligations. Import-export facilitation is essential where internationally sourced components must arrive without undermining localisation requirements.
Finally, government relations and project management will determine whether the awarded timetable is realistic. Investors need coordinated engagement with the Energy Ministry, the energy regulator, TEİAŞ and local authorities, followed by disciplined oversight of land, permitting, financing, procurement and construction. These are the practical service areas in which an FDI advisory firm such as fdiconsultancy.com can help translate an attractive national tender result into an operating investment in Türkiye.