Wind and solar drive surge in August power generation
ANKARA
Compared to the same month last year, electricity generation rose by 4.1 percent in August, with approximately 42 percent of the total output coming from renewable energy sources.
Electricity consumption also increased by 3 percent, largely driven by air conditioner usage due to high temperatures.
According to data from Turkish Electricity Transmission Corporation (TEİAŞ), electricity generation in August reached 34.77 million megawatt-hours, while consumption stood at 34.37 million megawatt-hours. The rise in consumption was primarily attributed to cooling needs during the hot weather, with air conditioning emerging as the key factor.
Among energy sources, wind power plants recorded the highest increase in production compared to August of the previous year, with an additional 1.3 million megawatt-hours. This was followed by solar power plants with 994,724 megawatt-hours and natural gas plants with 119,136 megawatt-hours. In contrast, hydroelectric power generation declined by 846,359 megawatt-hours during the same period.
Renewable energy sources — including wind, solar, hydroelectric, geothermal, and biomass — accounted for 41.7 percent of total electricity production. Renewable generation in August rose by 10.8 percent compared to the same month last year.
In terms of overall production by source, natural gas led with 8.53 million megawatt-hours, followed by imported coal with 7.26 million megawatt-hours.
Meanwhile, according to data from the Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAŞ), the amount of gas supplied to the grid in August rose by approximately 5.8 percent year-on-year to 4.3 billion cubic meters, although this did not result in a significant increase in electricity generation from natural gas.
