President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on June 3 that Türkiye’s role as a regional energy hub has become increasingly important amid disruptions to global energy supplies, stressing that energy security is a matter of national sovereignty.
“Ensuring energy supply security is not only a development issue but also a matter of sovereignty and national security... As industrialization, urbanization, population and technology use increase, the need for energy rises. We know very well that demand will continue to grow,” Erdoğan said at a ceremony marking the inauguration of renewable energy investments completed in 2025.
He said Türkiye’s position as an energy transit and distribution center has strengthened in recent years, citing the country’s hosting of the Istanbul Natural Resources Summit and its expanding role in regional energy markets.
The president argued that a crisis involving Iran that began on Feb. 28 and remains unresolved had underscored Türkiye’s strategic importance in global energy supply chains. Erdoğan said disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz caused one of the largest oil supply interruptions in history, affecting roughly a quarter of global oil shipments and one-fifth of liquefied natural gas trade.
According to Erdoğan, the disruption led to a sharp rise in oil prices, increased costs for petroleum-based products and growing inflationary pressures worldwide, while some countries imposed restrictions and prepared for economic downturns.
The president said Türkiye’s own energy demand has doubled over the past two decades and is expected to continue rising. Electricity consumption increased 2.1 percent from the previous year, while electricity demand is projected to grow by 50 percent by 2035, he said.
Türkiye currently imports about 57 percent of its energy needs and spends between $60 billion and $100 billion annually on energy imports, Erdoğan said.
He said the government’s national energy and mining strategy aims to reduce dependence on foreign energy sources through greater use of domestic and renewable resources.
Erdoğan said Türkiye ranks fifth in Europe and 11th globally in installed renewable energy capacity. Under the country’s national energy plan, the government aims to increase installed solar and wind power capacity from 40,000 megawatts by the end of 2025 to 100,000 megawatts, supported by $80 billion in investments.
The plan also includes the construction of green transmission infrastructure and the development of 5,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy capacity, he said.
According to Erdoğan, Türkiye’s total installed electricity generation capacity reached 125,410 megawatts by the end of April, with renewable energy accounting for 62 percent of the total. Solar power capacity has risen to 26,770 megawatts, while renewable sources generated 43.3 percent of the country’s electricity production by the end of 2025.
The president said Türkiye has significant untapped renewable energy resources, including an estimated 140,000 megawatts of wind energy potential, 53,000 megawatts of floating renewable energy potential and annual hydroelectric generation potential of 180 billion kilowatt-hours.
