Turkey begins electricity export to Iraq

Turkey, through its Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA), begins electricity exports on Dec. 28 to Iraq through the Silopi-Zakho transmission line.

EMRA opened electricity export applications to Iraq last month, which resulted in an amendment to the power supply license with Aksa Aksen Enerji Ticareti A.Ş. to include supplies to other markets i.e. Iraq, in conjunction with the Turkish domestic market.

Based on the amended license, exports of 150 megawatts (MW) to Iraq will begin on Monday and run until Nov. 1, 2021.

"Turkey, once an electricity importing country, is now exporting power to its neighbors," EMRA head Mustafa Yılmaz told Anadolu Agency.

"Turkey's electricity system has enough capacity to export power to neighboring countries. Our cross-border electricity trade continues to grow and I think this volume will increase further in 2021," Yılmaz said.

Iraq will now become the fourth electricity export destination following Bulgaria, Greece and Georgia where Turkey exported 2.8 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity last year.

Turkey's current installed electricity capacity reached 95,000 MW this year from which more than half was generated from renewables. Installed renewable capacity totals 49,000 MW with the addition of approximately 4,700 MW this year.

Natural gas, liquefied natural gas and naphtha constituted 25,700 MW of installed capacity in Turkey while total coal power comprised 20,300 MW.