Türkiye has launched efforts with the World Bank to secure up to $6 billion in financing aimed at expanding the country’s electricity transmission infrastructure, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar announced on Monday.

Bayraktar’s remarks followed a meeting with Antonella Bassani, the World Bank’s Vice President for Europe and Central Asia, where the two discussed cooperation on energy projects, including renewable energy, nuclear power, and natural gas.

“The first stage of this financing package will amount to $6 billion,” Bayraktar said in a post on the social media platform X, adding that the funds will be directed toward high-voltage electricity transmission investments. These upgrades are intended to support Türkiye’s target of 120,000 megawatts of installed wind and solar capacity by 2035.

Türkiye’s electricity consumption has tripled over the past two decades and is expected to rise even faster due to the nation’s long-term energy transformation, which focuses on replacing fossil fuels with electricity. With limited oil and natural gas resources, Türkiye faces a high current account deficit from energy imports and has been incentivizing investment in renewable energy and domestic exploration, while expanding international energy partnerships.

Currently, Türkiye has roughly 36 gigawatts (GW) of installed wind and solar capacity. The planned transmission projects will strengthen the national grid, accommodate increasing renewable energy output, integrate upcoming nuclear generation, and expand interconnections with neighboring countries such as Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Bulgaria.

Bayraktar noted that the full scope of the transmission upgrades will require approximately $28 billion in total investment. He stressed that a more robust and flexible electricity system is essential to efficiently deliver power from the growing fleet of renewable plants and new nuclear projects to demand centers across the country.

Türkiye’s nuclear program includes three planned conventional plants. The first, Akkuyu, a $20 billion, 4.8 GW four-reactor facility in the southern province of Mersin, is being constructed by Russian conglomerate Rosatom. Once operational, it is expected to generate around 10% of Türkiye’s electricity. The first reactor is scheduled to come online next year, while the country aims to reach 7.2 GW of nuclear capacity by 2035 and 20 GW by 2050, with additional plants planned in Sinop and Thrace.

The partnership with the World Bank marks a significant step in Türkiye’s strategy to modernize its electricity grid, support renewable energy expansion, and achieve long-term energy security and sustainability goals. (ILKHA)