Turkey could generate up to 10 bcm of biomethane by 2040, cutting emissions and fuel imports

According to a new sector report, Turkey has the capacity to produce up to 10 bcm of domestic renewable biomethane each year by 2040, provided that its current biogas and landfill-gas installations are modernised. BIYOYATDER projects output of 3 bcm by 2030, 5 bcm by 2035 and 10 bcm by 2040, which could lower emissions from organic waste and cut fossil-fuel imports for transport by as much as 30 million metric tons annually.

Cemil Direkci explained that untreated animal and agricultural waste releases methane, a greenhouse gas far more potent than CO₂, and that directing this waste to biogas plants would prevent those emissions at the source. He urged the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry to guarantee biomethane purchase prices for at least 12 years, starting at a floor of 60 euros per MWh and indexed to eurozone inflation. The 101 biogas plants currently licensed by the Energy Market Regulatory Authority process 10 million metric tons of waste each year, averting 18 million metric tons of carbon emissions. Direkci also suggested that plants with biomethane licences be permitted to market the gas domestically or export it, subject to technical regulations.