Turkey is working to resolve the energy supply issues in Syria and is ready to provide electricity to the country, where Ankara supported the rebels who toppled Bashar al-Assad earlier this month, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Monday.
“The vast majority of people meet their electricity needs with generators, so there is actually a very serious need for electricity,” Reuters quoted Bayraktar as telling reporters in Turkey.
Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar
Currently, Turkey supplies power to some parts of northern Syria. Now Turkey has vowed to help the war-torn country after the 13-year-long civil war.
Turkey is also ready to supply electricity to Lebanon, according to the Turkish energy minister.
A team of Turkish government officials is already on the ground in Syria and has had high-level contacts with the current de facto leader in Syria, the rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.
The Turkish team has been discussing energy cooperation with Syria and how Syria’s oil and natural gas resources could be used to provide energy, Bayraktar said.
Turkish firm Karpowership, which owns a fleet of floating power plants, told Reuters on Monday that it is being considered as one of the alternatives for providing electricity to Syria.
“There are talks between countries, alternatives are being evaluated. It is too early for us to say anything at this stage,” Karpowership said in a statement to Reuters.
Turkey has also signaled that it wants to take part in the revival of oil and gas production in Syria.
“We are also studying the use of crude oil and natural gas for reconstruction of Syria,” Minister Bayraktar said last week.
“We plan to tell our counterparts how we can make contributions in that sense. Our objective is to develop these projects.”
Bayraktar also said there were plans for new oil and gas pipelines between Syria and Turkey.
According to recent data, Turkey generates electricity primarily from coal (36.2%), followed by natural gas (21%), hydropower (19.3%), wind (10.3%), solar (6.7%), geothermal (3.4%), and other sources making up the remaining percentage.
Turkey’s electricity capacity is expected to reach 115,144 megawatts (MW) by the end of November 2024, making it the 14th largest in the world and Europe’s sixth-largest electricity market.
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