ANKARA (AA) – President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, “The Russia-Ukraine war and the closure of Hormuz have taught us that ensuring energy supply security is not only a matter of development, but also a matter of sovereignty and national security.” he said. Erdoğan attended the 2025 Renewable Energy Investments Mass Opening Ceremony held at Beştepe Nation Congress and Culture Center. President Erdoğan stated that, as a sign of their service and work policy, they hold the mass opening of renewable energy investments every year in the spring.
Reminding that they commissioned energy investments worth 5 billion dollars with an installed capacity of 6 thousand 818 megawatts in the same place last year, Erdoğan said, “Hopefully, we will soon hold the mass opening of the electricity generation plants completed in 2025. I hope that our ceremony and the investments we officially put into service today will be beneficial for our country, our nation and our energy sector.
I wholeheartedly congratulate our companies, institutions and the Ministry of Energy for bringing these important investments to our country.” he said. – The impact of the war on energy prices President Erdoğan said that Turkey’s position as the energy center and crossroads of its region is getting stronger. Reminding that they organized the second Istanbul Natural Resources Summit (İNRES) last week, where experts and distinguished names in their fields came together, Erdoğan continued his words as follows: “İNRES 2026 was instrumental in discussing current issues in the fields of energy, mining, critical minerals and hydrocarbons.
It is clearly seen that Turkey is the center of gravity of its region in the field of energy, especially in the light of current developments. Both the recent articles published in the international press and names that know the energy sector very well emphasize the strategic value of our country, which is increasing day by day.” The Iran-centered crisis, which started on February 28 and has not yet been resolved, has reinforced Turkey’s critical role in global energy supply.
We have all followed what happened from the first days of the Iran war, whose negative effects we still feel and will feel for a while. With the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which is the gateway of the Gulf countries to the open seas, the largest oil supply disruption in history occurred, according to the definition of the International Energy Agency. The closure of the strait caused the disruption of approximately 25 percent of global oil and 20 percent of liquefied natural gas trade.
“Oil barrel prices, which were around 60 dollars, have doubled.” – “Inflation has started to increase in the world” Erdoğan stated that they encountered the same shocking figures in all oil-derived products, including fertilizer and plastic, as well as LNG prices. Reminding that some countries have implemented various restrictions that they remember from the days of the coronavirus epidemic in order to reduce energy consumption, Erdogan continued as follows: “Schools were closed, restrictions were imposed on private vehicles entering the traffic.
There were a significant number of cancellations in flight flights. Long queues formed in front of petrol stations. Simultaneously with the prices of oil and natural gas-based products, inflation began to increase around the world. While a recovery in the global economy was expected until a few months ago, today many countries are preparing themselves for a recession as the Hormuz crisis drags on. When we include a wide range of impacts ranging from the labor market to tourism, from industry to agriculture, it becomes clear how vital the energy supply issue is.
The Russia-Ukraine war and the closure of Hormuz have taught us this; Ensuring energy supply security is not only a matter of development but also a matter of sovereignty and national security.” – “We know very well that the demand for energy will increase even more” President Erdoğan emphasized that another point that this crisis reminds us of is the importance of investments in alternative energy sources other than fossil fuels.
Pointing out that the need for energy increases as industrialization, urbanization, population and technology use increases, Erdoğan said: “We all know very well that the demand for energy will increase even more in the future. It is predicted that the electricity consumption of artificial intelligence-focused data centers alone will double in the next 5 years. As Türkiye, like all other rapidly developing countries, our energy demand is increasing year by year.
Our country’s energy needs have doubled in the last 20 years. In 2025, our electricity consumption increased by 2.1 percent compared to the previous year. We expect our electricity demand to increase by at least 50 percent by 2035. Currently, the share of imported resources in our energy supply is around 57 percent. We have an energy import bill of between 60 and 100 billion dollars, although it changes every year. Here, I would like to bring this to your attention: Türkiye is the 16th largest economy in the world and the 6th largest economy in Europe.
We are also a country that has grown at an average rate of 5.3 percent in the last 23 years. Growth figures for the first quarter of 2026 were announced on Monday. The Turkish economy grew by 2.5 percent in the first quarter of this year compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Thus, our economy has continued to grow for 23 quarters despite the shocks it has encountered. Hopefully, we want to continue this momentum in 2026.
“This means we will consume more energy.”
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