Türkiye, Saudi Arabia to sign 2nd phase of 5-GW renewable energy deal at COP31

ISTANBUL-Anadolu Agency

Türkiye and the Saudi Arabian company Acwa Power are set to sign the second phase of a 5-gigawatt renewable energy cooperation deal at the U.N. climate summit COP31 to be held in Antalya, Türkiye, later this year, Acwa chairman Mohammad Abunayyan said.

The planned signing would cover the remaining 3 gigawatts of capacity under a government-to-government agreement between the two countries, following this week’s deal for the first 2 gigawatts of solar projects in Türkiye's central provinces of Sivas and Karaman.

“We are going to sign 3 gigawatts in renewable and storage by COP31,” Abunayyan told Anadolu Agency in an interview on Feb. 20 on the sidelines of the signing ceremony in Istanbul for the Sivas and Taseli solar power plant projects.

The new phase “will be a mix between solar and wind and storage,” he added, noting that the company is also considering integrating storage into the initial 2-gigawatt solar projects.

The first phase, signed this week, is part of a broader 5-gigawatt framework agreed during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Saudi Arabia on Feb. 3. Abunayyan said that the construction on the 2 gigawatts of solar capacity is expected to begin next year after permits and environmental approvals are completed, with the first electricity targeted for early 2028.

“We are going to start our dispatch of the first electricity of this 2 gigawatts by the beginning of 2028, and we will be able to produce it all in 2028,” he said, describing it as a “very fast-track project.”

COP31, scheduled for Nov. 9-20 this year will be held in the Mediterranean city of Antalya, with a leaders’ summit expected in Istanbul. Nearly 200 countries are anticipated to participate in the U.N. climate talks, which are set to focus on implementing the Paris Agreement, including emissions reduction targets, adaptation efforts, climate finance and carbon market mechanisms.

Abunayyan said the first projects would deliver what he called the most competitive electricity prices in Türkiye while incorporating local content and Turkish contractors. “It will deliver the most competitive cost that you could imagine in Türkiye,” he said. “It’s going to deliver local content.”

He praised Türkiye’s renewable energy strategy, calling it “a great strategy” and “ambitious,” and noted the country’s goal to add 80 gigawatts of renewable capacity by 2035.

“This project … is really a starting of this 80 gigawatts,” he said.

Türkiye aims to increase its total installed solar and wind capacity to 120 gigawatts by 2035, which implies adding about 80 gigawatts to current levels. To achieve that target, the country would need to install roughly 9 gigawatts of new capacity each year.