Turkey is showcasing massive solar installations as it prepares to host the UN climate summit. Coal remains its primary source of electricity. Plans for fossil-fuel phase-outs draw sharp criticism from environmental advocates.
Rows of solar panels stretch across the central province of Konya. They turn sunlight into power as the country highlights its renewable energy expansion ahead of the upcoming United Nations climate talks, Euronews reported.
The country will host COP31 in Antalya from November 9–20, 2026. This location sits about 265 kilometers from the Konya site, according to IJR.
The city of Karapinar houses the Kalyon Karapınar YEKA-1 Solar Power Plant. It features more than three million solar panels across a plot equivalent to 2,600 soccer fields.
Operational since 2023, the facility generates roughly 0.7 percent of Turkey’s annual power demand. Director Burak Dogru told AP that the plant prevents approximately 1.75 million metric tons of carbon emissions every year.
Coal Remains Turkey’s Primary Power Source
Turkey remains heavily reliant on fossil fuels despite its vast solar infrastructure. According to the Energy Ministry, coal supplied 33 percent of the nation’s electricity generation last year and remained its single largest power source.
Solar and wind combined reached nearly 23 percent of generation. Data from the Turkish Statistical Institute put total greenhouse gas emissions for 2024 at 584.5 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent.
Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar aims to expand solar and wind capacity from approximately 40 gigawatts to 120 gigawatts by 2035, according to Connaissance des Énergies.
However, energy expert Emin Emrah Danis directs the consulting firm MOBEN. Danis cautions that second and third planned nuclear reactors will not be able to replace coal until around 2040.
A complete phase-out of coal will stretch into the mid-2050s. Danis warns that if renewables fail to keep pace with rising electricity demand, electrification risks driving a surge in imported coal and gas usage.
Climate activists argue that these figures present a clear contradiction in the nation’s energy trajectory. Kutluay added that official strategies lack a concrete fossil-fuel phase-out roadmap, describing them as incompatible
with national climate goals, IJR reported.
Local Resistance Meets Continued Mining Expansion
Local resistance to mining and plant expansions has intensified on the ground. Mayor Nejla Isik of Ikizkoy has fought frontally against the company YK Enerji, Orange Actualités reported.
The company wants to widen the mine to increase production capacity for its two thermal power plants. This local opposition extends against the presidency following the publication of a decree.
Head of State Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed the decree ordering the emergency expropriation of 679 parcels last January. Company representatives defend the projects as vital for national energy security.
YKE general manager Ahmet Eyidogan told AFP that for electricity production to continue, we must access new deposits
.
A Turkish court recently annulled an environmental impact assessment for an expansion project at the Afsin-Elbistan coal plant in the southeast. Environmentalists hailed the decision, IJR noted.
Shortly afterward, however, proposals emerged to enlarge another coal facility in Canakkale in the country’s northwest, Euronews reported.
Government Prepares for COP31 and Nuclear Power
Murat Kurum presented COP31 priorities earlier in the year. He emphasized that the international community wants past climate commitments put into practice, IJR reported.
To balance its transition, the government is also advancing nuclear power. The country’s first nuclear plant is currently under construction on the Mediterranean coast. Additional reactor projects remain under evaluation.
