Turkey is switching to eco-friendly energy sources. Thus, the Istanbul air hub will become the first airport to be completely powered by solar energy. The launch of its own solar power plant is scheduled for the end of this year.
Selahattin Bilgen, Acting Director General of Istanbul Airport, stated that "following the Sustainable Development Goals is among the top priorities for the airport."
It is planned to invest about 212 million euros, or about $229.74 million, in the solar power plant. It will occupy about 3 million square meters of territory, 439,000 solar panels with a total capacity of 199.32 megawatts will be installed at the plant. The new eco-friendly power plant is planned to generate 340 million kilowatt-hours of energy per year and provide the Istanbul Air Hub with the title of the world's first airport that will meet all its electricity needs from solar energy.
In addition, this is important for Turkey to reduce dependence on imported energy resources.
As you know, Istanbul's New airport, which replaced Ataturk Airport, was officially opened at the end of October 2018, and it started operating in April 2019. It can serve up to 90 million passengers per year, but the potential is up to 200 million.
The air hub continues to expand; the next four phases of airport scaling, including six runways, are expected to be completed by 2028.
Istanbul Airport served about 76 million passengers in 2023, and their number was about 52.75 million in 2022. This figure is expected to increase to 85 million in 2024. According to the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol), the airport has held the title of the busiest in Europe for the fourth year:it received and sent an average of 1,375 flights per day in 2023.
Turkey also continues to introduce electric car charging points throughout the country, which are increasing every month. Moreover, Turkey has started producing its own electric vehicles. Various companies and enterprises are building their own local power plants for their own and local needs, including the University in Alanya.