Turkey 2021 Energy Policy Review
The International Energy Agency (IEA) regularly conducts in-depth peer reviews of
the energy policies of its member countries. This process supports energy policy development
and encourages the exchange of international best practices and experiences.
The guiding principles of Turkish energy policy continue to be market reform and energy
security. Rapid economic and population growth in the past two decades have not only
driven strong growth in energy demand but also an associated increase in import dependency.
Turkey has prioritised security of energy supply as one of the central pillars of
its energy strategy, including efforts to boost domestic oil and gas exploration and
production, diversify oil and gas supply sources and associated infrastructure, and
reduce energy consumption through increased energy efficiency.
Turkey has seen considerable diversification of its energy mix in the past decade,
in particular through the growth of renewable electricity generation. The commissioning
of Turkey’s first nuclear power facility in 2023 will further diversify the country’s
fuel mix.
Notwithstanding many positive changes Turkey has made toward liberalising its energy
markets and diversifying its energy sources, the government should ensure that policies
in place to bolster energy security – including growth in coal-fired generation and
support for various forms of electricity generation – do not impede the economic efficiency
of markets and the country’s longer-term decarbonisation efforts.
In this report, the IEA provides energy policy recommendations to help Turkey smoothly
manage the evolution of its energy sector.
Published on March 16, 2021
In series:IEA Energy Policy Reviewsview more titles