Investing in the Turkish energy sector, particularly in solar and wind, means managing not only substantial technical costs but also a complex permitting process. A procedural error within the matrix of approvals spanning the energy regulator (EPDK), the transmission and distribution operators, the environment ministry and local municipalities can translate into losses running to millions.
Drawing on our energy disputes and project finance work, we set out below the failures investors most frequently encounter before the regulatory authorities.
1. Missing Connection Agreement Deadlines
The lifeblood of an energy investment is the allocation of capacity at the substation through which the electricity will reach the grid. The connection opinion or call letter provided by the transmission operator or the local distribution company does not remain valid indefinitely.
The failure: Investors waiting on environmental or zoning approvals frequently miss the deadlines set out in the call letter and in the process leading to signature of the connection agreement.The consequence: Once the deadline passes, the application lapses. Worse, the substation capacity allocated to the project is reallocated to the next investor in the queue, potentially leaving panel orders worth millions stranded.2. Unlicensed Generation: The Netting Regime Has Changed
The Unlicensed Electricity Generation Regulation is the text most often relied on for rooftop solar installations at industrial sites. Regulatory change here has direct financial consequences.
The failure: Building the financial model on the monthly netting regime, which no longer applies. Under the amending Regulation published in the Official Gazette on 2 April 2026, netting between electricity supplied to and drawn from the grid at unlicensed facilities moved from a monthly to an hourly basis, with the netting provisions applying from 1 May 2026. Surplus generation is now assessed only within the relevant hour and cannot be netted against consumption in other hours.The consequence: For facilities without battery storage, hourly netting means surplus energy is effectively supplied to the grid without corresponding value, eroding revenue. Financial models built on the previous regime overstate returns, and debt service assumptions fail.3. Changing Shareholding Without EPDK Consent
The Electricity Market Licensing Regulation subjects transfers of 10% or more of the shares in a licence holder (5% in listed companies) to strict rules.
The failure: Completing and registering share transfers under company law during a group reorganisation or a fund's entry, without first obtaining EPDK consent.The consequence: Transfers not approved by EPDK are ineffective under sectoral legislation. Breach of the notification requirement also carries substantial administrative fines, and licence revocation can arise.4. Zoning and Environmental Issues: Solar on Agricultural Land
The failure: Assuming that because an EPDK licence has been granted, a plant can be built on cheaply acquired protected agricultural land.The consequence: Under Land Protection Law No. 5403, non-agricultural use of absolute agricultural land, special crop land and planted agricultural land requires the permission of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. That permission and the environmental impact assessment process are not preconditions of one another; they run in parallel, and the investment is not legally secure until both are complete. Starting construction without the permission, or without either an "EIA Not Required" decision or a positive EIA decision, results in suspension of the works and an administrative fine.5. Mismatch Between Land Tenure and Licence Term
The failure: EPDK generation licences are granted for terms of up to 49 years. Where the plant sits on treasury or forest land, the allocation or lease term may be shorter: 29 years, for instance.The consequence: In year 30 the company still holds the licence but loses the right to use the land beneath the plant. Lenders financing such projects require that the land tenure period is not shorter than the loan term.6. Failing to Manage Balancing Obligations
The failure: Once the plant is generating, focusing on operations and maintenance while neglecting deviations between forecast and actual output submitted to the day-ahead market.The consequence: Imbalance charges are applied within the settlement mechanism operated by EPİAŞ, the energy exchange. A plant can find that imbalance costs erode the margin on the energy it generates.7. Procedural Failures in Capacity Amendment Applications
The failure: Replacing older panels with higher-efficiency modules (repowering) without applying to EPDK to amend the licence.The consequence: Where the existing connection capacity is exceeded in practice, the facility is treated as operating irregularly by grid inspectors, and generation may be suspended.8. Documentation Failures in Domestic Content Support
Domestic manufacture of components such as panels, blades and towers is encouraged through support mechanisms.
An important caveat: The legislation here changed fundamentally in 2021. The former support scheme applicable to plants commissioned up to 30 June 2021, based on a US dollar price guarantee with a domestic content addition, has closed; a new mechanism denominated in Turkish lira and resting on different calculation rules applies to plants commissioned afterwards. The plant's commissioning date is therefore the first question in determining which regime applies. Financial models built on the rates and calculations of the former regime are wrong from the outset.The failure: Not verifying the validity of the documentation required for domestic content support (the supplier's domestic goods certificate and related industrial documentation), or leaving the application until after the investment is complete. These documents belong to the supplier; the investor's responsibility is to require them in the supply contract and to track their validity.The consequence: Missing the relevant documentation period costs the plant the domestic content addition for that support period.Legal Advice Does Not End With the First Application
Energy legislation is a living body of rules: regulations and communiqués change repeatedly within a single year, and the rules applicable when an investment is modelled may differ by the time it is operating. The change to hourly netting described above is a concrete illustration. Regulatory compliance needs to be maintained as a distinct discipline through development, financing and operation. Otherwise a completed solar plant can be reduced to a field of concrete by a documentary gap.
This article is provided for general information and does not substitute for a legal opinion on a specific energy investment.
Last updated: 10 August 2026.
