Turkey nearly trebles solar output in 2017

Solar park in Turkey. Source: IBC Solar (www.ibc-solar.com).

May 15 (Renewables Now) - Turkey produced around 2.86 million MWh of power from solar photovoltaic (PV) plants in 2017, which is an increase of 177% from a year earlier.

The country’s installed solar PV capacity grew to 3 GW from 0.95 GW in 2016, according to energy statistics by the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA).

Wind energy remains the top non-hydro renewable energy source with a total capacity of 6.5 GW and a 2017 output of 17.9 million MWh. This up from 15.5 million MWh produced a year before. Geothermal power plants produced 6 million MWh and biomass plants generated 2.14 million MWh last year.

The figures include both power plants with generation licenses and unlicensed facilities. Most of the country’s solar capacity is in the second category.

Earlier this year, SolarPower Europe said the continent's solar market expanded by 28.4% in 2017, adding 8.6 GW of new PV, with Turkey as the biggest contributor to that growth.

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