Türkiye and Saudi Arabia signed an energy investment agreement Tuesday worth about $2 billion covering solar power projects in Türkiye, the Turkish energy minister announced.
"In Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, we signed the Intergovernmental Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Türkiye and the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Renewable Energy Power Plant Projects with my Saudi counterpart, His Excellency Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud," Alparslan Bayraktar wrote on the X.
The two countries aim for Saudi companies to construct solar and wind power plants with a total capacity of 5,000 megawatts (MW) in Türkiye, said Bayraktar.
As the first phase of the investment, solar power plant projects with a total capacity of 2,000 MW will be implemented in the Turkish provinces of Sivas and Karaman in central Anatolia.
"We view these investments, which will be among the most significant examples of direct foreign investments in our energy sector, as fully financed through external funding. Credit will also be provided by international financial institutions," he noted.
He said the solar power plants, to be established with an investment of approximately $2 billion, will meet the electricity needs of 2.1 million households.
"These projects, which demonstrate confidence in Türkiye's investment climate and energy sector, constitute one of the most important steps toward the target set by our esteemed President to reach an installed capacity of 120,000 MW in solar and wind power by 2035," Bayraktar noted.
Electricity purchases will be made for 25 years at a rate of €1.995 ($2.36) per kilowatt-hour from the plant to be built in Karaman and €2.3415 per kilowatt-hour from the plant to be built in Sivas.
Bayraktar said they aim for 50% localization within the scope of the project.
"In this way, we aim to realize a project large enough to meet the electricity needs of approximately 2.1 million households after these signatures are put on the agreement. We will hopefully lay the foundation in 2027, and we aim to complete the first phase towards the end of 2027 and the entire project in 2028 and 2029."
Bayraktar also noted that they discussed some projects that will make the cooperation between the two countries in the field of electricity more long-term, adding: "In particular, regarding the electricity transmission line from Saudi Arabia to Türkiye, and the interconnection, our colleagues will hopefully come back here and start working again. That is also a project of such magnitude and importance that it can affect our entire region."
Bayraktar was part of the delegation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who visited Riyadh on Tuesday.
