Türkiye’s plan to mobilize roughly $108 billion for power generation and grid infrastructure by 2035 is more than an energy-sector headline. It is a test of whether the country can turn rapid electricity demand growth, industrial decarbonization pressure and its strategic position between Europe, Asia and the Middle East into a bankable foreign investment cycle.
A $108 Billion Grid And Generation Bet
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar told Anadolu Agency on September 16 that Türkiye expects about $80 billion of investment in power generation and $28 billion in transmission infrastructure by 2035, as reported by Daily Sabah. The target sits under the Renewable Energy 2035 Road Map, which aims to lift combined wind and solar capacity to 120 gigawatts.
The transmission element is central. Bayraktar said Türkiye’s transmission lines expanded by 80 percent to 77,000 kilometers between 2005 and 2025. Over the same period, substations owned by TEİAŞ, the state transmission operator, rose from 512 to 824, the number of transformers increased from 1,096 to 2,215, and transformer capacity reached 236,913 megavolt-amperes.
The next phase is more technically demanding. Anadolu quoted Bayraktar as saying Türkiye plans about 9,580 kilometers of high-voltage direct current corridors with 28 GW of capacity, plus 15,000 kilometers of new alternating-current lines. The International Energy Agency’s policy tracker, updated in June 2026, cites the broader roadmap as including 14,700 kilometers of HVDC lines, 40 converter centers and interconnection capacity of 6,750 MW for exports and 6,600 MW for imports. The difference suggests a rolling implementation program, not a single procurement event.
For foreign investors, this distinction matters. Opportunities will not be confined to building solar and wind farms. They will extend to grid equipment, transformers, HVDC technology, SCADA systems, storage, engineering services, land development, digital monitoring and project finance.
Why Türkiye Needs The Capital
The investment case starts with demand. The IEA’s 2026 Türkiye Energy Policy Review said electricity demand grew by almost 5 percent annually on average between 2005 and 2024, the fastest rate among IEA member countries. The agency expects demand to keep rising through 2035, driven by population growth, industrialization, urbanization, electric vehicles, air conditioning and data centers.
Türkiye’s Investment and Finance Office says installed power capacity was about 119.6 GW in mid-2025, with 22.9 GW of solar, more than 13.5 GW of wind, 32.3 GW of hydropower and around 1.7 GW of geothermal capacity. Renewables already account for more than 58 percent of installed capacity, according to the same source, but generation shares are lower because solar and wind have variable output.
The IEA reported that renewables supplied 43 percent of Türkiye’s electricity generation in 2025 and that the National Energy Plan foresees 55 percent by 2035. Solar capacity is expected to nearly quadruple between 2024 and 2035, while wind capacity is expected to triple. That scale of variable generation cannot be absorbed without stronger transmission, storage and system flexibility.
Energy security is the second driver. Türkiye remains exposed to imported fossil fuels, particularly natural gas and oil. The IEA said Türkiye’s speed in securing energy supply will depend on how well it integrates variable renewables and nuclear power. The World Bank made the same point in August 2025 when it approved a financing package for Türkiye’s Transforming Power Transmission System Project, saying grid modernization would reduce fossil fuel import dependency and improve competitiveness.
International Finance Is Already Moving
The $108 billion target is not only a government aspiration. It is starting to align with multilateral finance and private-sector commitments.
In August 2025, the World Bank approved a package including a €625 million IBRD loan, a €32.798 million Clean Technology Fund loan and a $2 million CTF grant for Türkiye’s transmission system. The bank said the project would help modernize substations, expand transmission lines and underground cables, digitalize SCADA and energy management systems, and support Türkiye’s first HVDC corridors. World Bank Türkiye Country Director Humberto Lopez described the renewable target as “one of the world’s most ambitious” and said the project would help unlock private investment.
Private capital is also visible. ACWA Power has moved forward with a 5 GW renewable energy program in Türkiye, with the company saying the plan could bring up to $5 billion in foreign direct investment. Anadolu reported in April 2026 that ACWA’s first 2 GW of solar projects in Sivas and the Taşeli region were progressing, with environmental and social impact studies under way.
Auction policy is another signal. Ember reported in February 2025 that Türkiye’s early 2025 tenders added 800 MW of solar and 1.2 GW of wind, bringing total tendered wind and solar capacity to 7.8 GW, although less than a quarter was operational at that time. The Investment Office says annual auctions and dollar-based feed-in tariffs are designed to provide predictable revenue streams.
That gap between tendered and operational capacity is the crux of the FDI story. Türkiye has resource potential, political targets and investor interest. The bottlenecks are execution, permitting, grid connection, procurement, local-content requirements, financing terms and currency risk.
Regulation, Carbon Markets And Industrial Demand
Türkiye’s power investment agenda is increasingly tied to industrial competitiveness. The country’s first Climate Law entered into force in July 2025, creating the legal basis for a national emissions trading system. The International Carbon Action Partnership reported that Türkiye published secondary regulations for the Turkish ETS on August 27, 2026, covering governance, allocation rules, registries and market stability mechanisms.
ICAP said the system will cover large power and energy-intensive industrial installations, broadly mirroring the EU ETS, while Energy Exchange Istanbul will conduct allowance auctions. The carbon-market framework is also connected to the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which affects exporters of cement, steel, aluminum, fertilizers, electricity and hydrogen.
This gives renewable power a wider commercial role. Foreign manufacturers assessing Türkiye for export-oriented production will increasingly examine whether industrial sites can access low-carbon electricity, power purchase agreements, rooftop or self-consumption solar, and credible emissions reporting. Energy procurement will become part of market entry strategy, not a back-office utility decision.
Legal and tax compliance will be equally important. Investors must navigate licensing from EMRA, land use and zoning rules, environmental impact procedures, grid connection applications, Turkish company law, customs duties on imported equipment, VAT treatment, transfer pricing, withholding tax and potential carbon reporting obligations. Where projects involve public land, YEKA tenders, incentives or regulated tariffs, government relations and regulatory liaison become central to execution.
Where The Risks Sit
The largest risk is timing. To reach 120 GW of wind and solar by 2035, Türkiye must add capacity at a pace that exceeds historical delivery. Climate Policy Database summarizes the roadmap as requiring at least 7.5 GW to 8 GW of new renewable capacity per year. That would require faster permitting, faster grid reinforcement and a deeper supplier base.
The second risk is bankability. Dollar-based tariffs and long-term support mechanisms help, but investors will still price currency volatility, inflation, interest rates, curtailment risk and counterparty exposure. Türkiye attracted $13.1 billion in FDI in 2025, up 12.2 percent year-on-year, according to the Investment Office and Central Bank balance of payments data. That positive trend improves the context, but infrastructure investors will still require clear contracts and reliable dispute mechanisms.
The third risk is local execution. Large projects in Türkiye often require coordination among ministries, municipalities, grid operators, land registries, environmental authorities, suppliers, customs brokers and construction contractors. For equipment providers, import-export facilitation matters because grid upgrades depend on transformers, power electronics, cables, turbines, modules, inverters, battery systems and control technologies moving through customs without avoidable delay.
The fourth risk is competition. Türkiye is not the only emerging market trying to attract clean-energy capital. Investors will compare auction terms, grid access, permitting timelines and industrial power demand against markets in Central and Eastern Europe, the Gulf, North Africa and Central Asia. Türkiye’s advantage is its large domestic market, manufacturing base, customs union relationship with the EU and location. Its challenge is to make those advantages administratively predictable.
What This Means For Foreign Investors
Türkiye’s $108 billion power and grid plan creates a broad investment map, but it is not a simple invitation to build generation assets. Foreign investors need to determine where they fit in the value chain: utility-scale wind and solar, storage, grid equipment, EPC services, digital grid systems, industrial self-consumption, carbon compliance or manufacturing tied to renewable supply chains.
For an investor acting on this opportunity, the first step is market entry analysis, including technology demand, auction eligibility, competitor mapping and regional site screening. Incorporation and corporate structuring then shape how the investor participates, whether through a Turkish subsidiary, joint venture, EPC contract, equipment distribution model or project company.
Investment incentives require early assessment because energy, manufacturing, storage and regional development incentives can affect returns materially. Legal and tax compliance must be built into the project timeline, especially for licensing, land rights, customs, environmental approvals, employment and carbon reporting. Government relations are also practical, not ceremonial, because renewable and grid projects depend on coordinated interaction with ministries, TEİAŞ, EMRA, municipalities and tendering bodies.
Expo and trade-fair representation can help technology suppliers identify Turkish partners and offtakers, while import-export facilitation is critical for equipment-heavy projects. Finally, project management on the ground is often what separates a signed investment plan from an operating asset.
The opportunity is real, but so is the complexity. Türkiye’s energy transition is moving from targets to infrastructure delivery, and the investors best placed to benefit will be those that treat the $108 billion program as a regulated, multi-agency industrial project, not simply as a renewable-energy headline.