Turkey has increased its electricity capacity by 7,000 megawatts over the past year, the energy minister has announced.
Taner Yildiz told an energy summit in the southern city of Gaziantep on Thursday that Turkey increased installed capacity by 7,000 megawatts between August last year and last month, an increase of 11.5 percent.
The rise in capacity is part of Turkey’s attempt to reduce its reliance on foreign energy sources and has been achieved with the support of the government and private sector, Yildiz said.
'We will increase the usage of domestic resources and decrease the amount of foreign resources,' he added.
According to the minister, investment in renewable energy is helping to reduce Turkey's foreign energy needs but dry weather saw hydroelectric power cut from 25 percent to 18 percent of Turkey’s total energy provision over the year.
by Muhsin Barış Tiryakioğlu
Anadolu Agency