Unlicensed rooftop and self-consumption solar capacity in Turkey reached 24.2 GW by May, taking total installed solar capacity to around 27 GW, according to grid operator TEİAŞ data. Almost 90% of all Turkish solar capacity is now decentralised, built up largely without the heavy state subsidies or nuclear investment used elsewhere.

The buildout has been rapid: solar capacity has more than doubled in under three years, while energy think-tank Ember has assessed that Turkey added a record 6.5 GW of combined wind and solar capacity in 2025 alone, taking total wind and solar capacity to about 40 GW. IntelliNews reported this month that Turkey has unveiled tenders for a further 2.4 GW of wind and solar capacity, part of a push toward a government target of 120 GW of wind and solar by 2035.

The growth is cutting Turkey's reliance on imported gas: gas's share of power generation fell from 48% in 2014 to 22% in 2025, Ember said. But coal, not solar, remains Turkey's single largest power source, supplying 34% of generation in 2025, over two-thirds of it from imported coal, with Russia the country's biggest supplier. Solar's own share of generation reached 10.5% in 2025, up from 4.7% in 2022, narrowly behind wind's 11.1%; together wind and solar overtook hydropower for the first time last year.

The renewables build-out comes even as hydropower output has weakened because of drought — Ember estimates the resulting reliance on gas-fired backup costs Turkey around $1.8bn a year — despite Turkey ranking as Europe's second-biggest hydropower market, IntelliNews reported.