July 19 (Reuters) - Turkey overtook Germany and Poland to become Europe's top coal-fired electricity producer in June, and for the opening half of 2023 generated more coal power than Poland for the first time to emerge as Europe's second-largest coal user behind Germany.
Even Poland, Europe's most coal-dependent economy, has seen a modest net capacity decline since 2018.
Indeed, Turkey's electricity generation from all clean sources has risen by 40% since 2018, while generation from fossil fuels declined by more than 8% over that period.
Further increases in coal-fired generation may in turn push Turkey farther ahead of Poland in terms of coal generation over the near term, and potentially narrow the gap more on Europe's top coal user, Germany.
That should undermine coal's usage momentum in Turkey's energy system, and potentially result in Turkey making only a fleeting entry as one of Europe's main coal users.
Persons:
Turkey's, Gavin Maguire, Robert Birsel
Organizations:
Germany, COVID, Reuters, Thomson
Locations:
Turkey, Germany, Poland, Europe, Turkey overtakes Poland, Southern Europe, Italy, Romania, Czech Republic, Ukraine