Türkiye’s solar sector continues to expand rapidly, with nearly 2 GW of new capacity added in the first four months of the year. While deployment momentum remains strong, the market appears to be transitioning from a rapid boom toward a more structured and policy-shaping phase.

Speaking to pv magazine at the Smarter E event in Munich, Germany, Mehmet İzzet Özaydın, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Turkish PV association Günder, said the market is being driven primarily by private-sector demand for cost reduction and energy security via unlicensed solar power plants, with solar increasingly viewed as a core industrial asset rather than a discretionary investment.

“Companies see solar as a way to permanently reduce operating costs and remain competitive,” he stated.

Policy shift toward domestic manufacturing

Recent regulatory changes have introduced a stronger emphasis on local manufacturing content, Özaydın explained, particularly requirements linked to solar modules produced with domestically manufactured cells. He explained this shift is reshaping investment decisions and in some cases, slowing some project pipelines as developers reassess economics under the new rules, as domestic cell production does not yet benefit from global scale efficiencies.

Macroeconomic conditions are adding further complexity. With commercial lending rates reported at around 40%, many companies are weighing solar investments against high short-term returns available through financial markets. “Tight credit conditions are also limiting access to financing for some commercial projects,” Özaydın noted.

New business models

To address both financing barriers and grid limitations, Özaydın suggested that industry stakeholders look towards alternative deployment models, including fully behind-the-meter systems and concession-based development structures.

One proposed approach involves regional concession tenders, where licensed developers would be awarded rights to install and operate solar systems across defined geographic areas. “Under this model, developers would finance rooftop solar installations on commercial buildings at scale, with host customers receiving discounted electricity and ownership transferring after a defined period,” Özaydın explained to pv magazine.

A key feature of the concept is the elimination of grid feed-in. Systems would be designed as fully self-consumption-based assets, and enventually paired with battery storage to manage load balancing and avoid export constraints.

“The idea is to stop treating the grid as the limiting factor,” Özaydın said. “Instead, systems would operate entirely behind the meter, with storage ensuring flexibility and resilience.”

Outlook remains strong

Despite tightening financial conditions, Türkiye is expected to maintain high levels of solar deployment, though Özaydın cautioned that installations may be more moderate in the second half of the year.

“Banks have become incredibly cautious,” he added. “They are conducting intense scrutiny and are highly hesitant to offer credit unless a customer is completely bulletproof. Because businesses need to preserve their liquid capital for primary operations rather than self-funding solar, we are seeing a bottleneck.”

Full-year additions are projected to reach between 4 GW and 6 GW, supported by continued strong private-sector demand and scalability of commercial and industrial solar projects.