Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar on Friday proposed establishing a technical level working group to work on a mega grid under the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) umbrella.
Bayraktar, who participated in the fourth SCO Energy Ministers meeting via videoconference, said energy transition can only be achieved through fundamental changes that require significant investments, and also with both regional and global cooperation.
Bayraktar said that Türkiye is developing a unique energy transition strategy that will lead the country to achieve decarbonization goals by 2053.
Highlighting the importance of infrastructure for the energy sector, Bayraktar said: 'Without transmission, there is no successful energy transition.'
Bayraktar reminded Türkiye's aim to build a grid that will enable the country to add 60 gigawatts of solar and wind in the next 12 years in line with its national energy strategy without compromising energy security.
'There is a lot more potential and synergies to create if we expand these intergovernmental cooperations for joint infrastructure projects,' he said and added: 'All SCO countries can work together to establish a well-integrated mega grid and also power markets coupling and extensive EV charging networks.'
Citing the ongoing cooperations with neighbor countries Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Bulgaria, and Greece to increase interconnection capacities, Bayraktar said 'I propose establishing a technical level working group to work on this mega grid under the umbrella of SCO. Our idea should be creating regionally coupled markets that effectively utilize resources across regions, delivering electricity effectively between countries.'
'If the member countries approve, we would like to host the first technical meeting of this working group in Türkiye this upcoming fall or next spring in the year 2025,' Bayraktar added.
Baykartar also pointed to the potential among member countries to further improve the energy transition technologies and address more markets globally via international cooperations.
'Our countries are blessed with abundant resources, including natural resources like oil, gas, minerals, and human resources and institutions like universities and research centers. By working together, we can leverage these resources more effectively and ensure that benefits are widely shared,' he said.
By Firdevs Yuksel
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr