Current practices, potentials, challenges, future opportunities, environmental and economic assumptions for Türkiye’s clean and sustainable energy policy: A comprehensive assessment

Abstract

In today’s world, most countries including Türkiye have met their electricity demand at a dominant rate by burning fossil-based fuels in thermal power plants. However, fossil-fuel reserves have been rapidly depleted, resulting in high volatility in these fuels’ markets, as well as alarming environmental, and economic problems for the governments. In recent years, many governments have started to face these problems and have rapidly transitioned to renewable and alternative carbon-free energy sources in their electricity production variety. However, these belated steps have failed to mitigate the increment in global greenhouse gas emissions against the rapid growth of population and energy demand. In recent years, Türkiye has put a noteworthy challenge to mitigate its dominant use of fossil fuels, reducing its energy dependence, sustaining its economic development, and mitigating the carbon footprint. From this point of view, it is witnessed that many power plants have been established, many of them are currently under construction, especially to produce more electricity in a sustainable way. Accordingly, the present study aims to comprehensively discuss Türkiye’s energy production policy, energy potential and reserves, challenges, future opportunities, and the impacts of the energy sector on the economic and environmental issues for the country. In this framework, it is well-noticed that the country’s future energy production policy has been reasonably changed in order to achieve positive economic and environmental outcomes in the medium and long term.