Türkiye plans to accelerate investments and make 2026 the “year of wind,” its energy chief said Tuesday, as the country plans new renewable energy auctions and advances preparations for its first offshore projects.

“2026 will practically be the year of wind,” Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar told the Turkish Wind Energy Congress in Ankara.

A total of 1,500 megawatts (MW) will be dedicated to wind as part of Renewable Energy Resource Zone (YEKA) tenders, Bayraktar added, referring to a mechanism aimed at encouraging clean power investments.

Offshore wind is among Türkiye’s most strategic renewable energy priorities with a “significant” potential, according to the minister.

Renewables are a key part of the country’s broader push to diversify energy supply, reduce its heavy import dependence and strengthen long-term energy security.

First offshore tender

Türkiye aims to install 5 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind power capacity by 2035, and Bayraktar said four areas have been designated as installation sites.

The first offshore wind YEKA tender will be held after the completion of permitting processes, he added.

Bayraktar stated that the Saros Gulf, areas near the islands of Gökçeada, Bozcaada and the region off the coast of Edremit had been designated as offshore wind sites.

“After the permitting processes are completed, we will hold Türkiye’s first offshore wind YEKA tender,” he said, though he did not provide a timeline.

Ibrahim Erden, head of the Turkish Wind Energy Association (TÜREB), also said they expect the first tender to be announced and held either later this year or at the beginning of next year.

Türkiye has, in recent years, intensified efforts to identify offshore wind energy zones, particularly in the northwestern part of the country.

Compared with onshore plants, offshore wind farms involve higher investment and maintenance costs, but they can generate electricity with fewer interruptions.

The YEKA scheme was introduced in 2016 to facilitate land allocation for investors, ease the deployment of large projects and encourage the domestic production of renewable energy technologies.

The government later unveiled updates to the model to draw greater investor interest. Key enhancements included simplifying post-tender permitting procedures and introducing financial incentives like exemptions from transmission fees.

Bayraktar said Türkiye has so far held YEKA auctions totaling 7,800 MW and allocated an additional 3,800 MW of capacity in 2024 and 2025 under the updated auction model.

“We will continue to organize at least 2,000 MW of YEKA competitions every year,” he said.

Electricity ‘backbone’

Globally, Bayraktar said the energy landscape is being reshaped by geopolitical tensions, climate change, supply chain disruptions and rising electricity demand. He stressed that uncertainties have increased with the Strait of Hormuz closure and that crises are becoming increasingly persistent.

Still, Bayraktar said Türkiye remains among the countries that have avoided disruptions to energy supply thanks to diversified import sources and infrastructure investments. He said the country is now building what he described as a “new energy architecture,” centered on electrification and renewable energy.

“The main axis, the backbone of the new process, will be electricity. In line with our new energy architecture, we will evaluate opportunities for cooperation and sign various agreements,” said Bayraktar.

“What we clearly see is that the world is becoming increasingly electrified.”

He pointed to the rapid adoption of electric vehicles as one of the drivers of future electricity demand, noting that the number of EVs in Türkiye has exceeded 400,000 and is projected to reach between 6 million and 8 million by 2035.

Daily electricity consumption in Türkiye broke records last summer, mainly driven by growing air conditioner usage. Bayraktar says they expect hotter summers, more intensive energy consumption and much higher electricity demand.

“Electricity is at the center of Türkiye’s energy transformation, and renewable energy is at the center of electricity,” he noted.

Hotter weather to lift power consumption

Türkiye’s total installed capacity now exceeds 125,000 MW, and approximately 63% of this consists of renewable sources. That compares to about 33% back in 2005.

Bayraktar also said Türkiye experienced record daily electricity demand last summer due to air-conditioning use, warning that hotter summers and growing electrification will continue to lift power consumption.

“We expect warmer summers, more intensive energy consumption and much higher electricity demand,” he said.

Türkiye’s installed electricity generation capacity has surpassed 125,000 megawatts, of which roughly 63% now comes from renewable sources, according to Bayraktar. That compares with just 33% in 2005.

Wind power capacity has risen from only 20 MW in 2005 to more than 15,000 MW today. Wind accounted for 10.9% of Türkiye’s 393 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity generation in 2025.

Bayraktar said annual wind generation reached a record 34.5 billion kilowatt-hours.

Solar capacity has also expanded sharply, rising from 40 MW in 2014 to more than 26,000 MW today.

Combined, wind and solar now account for roughly one-third of Türkiye’s installed capacity.

“Türkiye is now among the top five countries in Europe and top 11 globally in renewable installed capacity,” Bayraktar said.

$30B new investment

He also highlighted growing domestic manufacturing capabilities in the wind sector, saying localization rates have reached around 60% for wind turbines and more than 70% in towers, generators and blades.

Türkiye’s renewable ecosystem has expanded from 27 producers in 2014 to 500 domestic manufacturers today, while the sector supports around 50,000 green jobs, according to Bayraktar.

Electricity demand is expected to rise to 510 terawatt-hours by 2035, prompting Türkiye to significantly expand both generation and transmission infrastructure.

Türkiye aims to raise combined wind and solar installed capacity to 120,000 megawatts by 2035.

To support the expansion, Türkiye plans to invest around $30 billion in grid infrastructure, including 14,700 kilometers of high-voltage direct current transmission lines with 40 GW of capacity, 15,000 kilometers of new alternating current transmission lines and 40 new converter stations.

“A strong renewable portfolio requires a strong grid infrastructure,” Bayraktar said.

He added that Türkiye is also working to increase interconnection capacity with neighboring countries as part of efforts to position itself as a regional energy trading hub.

Bayraktar also linked Türkiye’s renewable energy agenda to the U.N. COP31 climate summit, which Türkiye is set to co-host with Australia in Antalya in November.

“COP31 is of great importance in this context,” he said. “From wind and solar to nuclear energy and energy efficiency, we will deliver important messages to the world from Antalya with ambitious targets.”

Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Germany must “pull itself together” or risk falling behind in a rapidly changing world, in a speech to trade unionists on Tuesday that was met with jeers, whistles and boos.

After a year in office, Merz’s popularity has sunk and his government has become embroiled in disputes over ​how far and how fast to reform ​Europe’s ⁠largest economy to revive growth and tackle ballooning healthcare and pension costs.

The sceptical reception among delegates representing workers from across industrial, public and service sectors reflects a wider battle in German politics over the pace of change at a time when established parties are losing votes to the surging far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

Merz’s conservatives and their junior ally, the Social Democrats, were meeting later on Tuesday to thrash out differences, with Merz ⁠and ⁠his Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil batting away suggestions that the coalition could collapse.

After two years of recession, Germany returned to growth at the end of last year, but the fragile recovery risks being snuffed out by an energy shock from the war with Iran and new U.S. tariffs targeting carmakers that are already struggling against competition from China.

“The ⁠challenges are also so great because we have created problems for ourselves for far too long, problems that we now have to solve. We ​have simply failed to modernize our country,” Merz told the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB).

“Germany must therefore pull itself together. Germany must tackle the structural problems that we have been ⁠putting ‌off for many ‌years, problems that have consequently grown steadily larger. ⁠You know it, we all ‌know it.”

Merz said high costs and bureaucracy were hurting business, putting jobs ​and the prosperity of ⁠future generations at risk.

But his case for ⁠reforming health and pensions, the latter a straightforward question of “demographics ⁠and mathematics,” was greeted ​with periodic heckling, whistles and laughter, while some in the audience held thumbs-down signs.

Merz argued that significant changes to the welfare system and labor market rules are needed to revive the country’s stagnant economy.

“These reform projects are not a threat; they are a great opportunity,” he said.

Merz had previously promised an “autumn of reforms” to cut costs in Germany’s social welfare system, but legislation has been slow to materialize.

At the end of April, the coalition struck a deal on health insurance changes, which had previously faced opposition from the labor-aligned SPD.

On Tuesday, Merz promised to continue by passing pension reforms – labelling this “undoubtedly the most difficult challenge” – by late summer.

Germany has the oldest working population in the European Union, with a quarter of the country’s workers aged between 55 and 64, according to figures published in February.

Merz warned that demographic trends will mean that a shrinking share of younger workers will have to support growing numbers of pensioners in the future.

He has called for increased private investment in funding retirement.

The sputtering performance of Europe’s largest economy – which is widely forecast to grow only about 0.5% this year – is “simply too little to maintain our prosperity”, Merz said.

Without growth, “there will also be no effective welfare state, good healthcare, or adequate pensions,” he warned.

DGB chair Yasmin Fahimi, who was reelected to her post on Monday, countered that any reforms must include a “fair distribution of the burden” and rejected government proposals to loosen working time regulations.

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Türkiye unveiled on Tuesday a new financial package worth $5.3 billion (TL 240.62 billion) to support transformation and employment in the agriculture sector in the country, with the first tranche of $750 million to be available this year, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said.

“We will provide businesses with financing opportunities of up to $10 million, with a repayment period of up to seven years and a 24-month grace period, depending on the size of the project,” Erdoğan told the program held in the capital Ankara to mark World Farmers Day.

The project, which will be supported by the World Bank and which is being launched this year, will span 10 years, according to the president.

“With this project, we will facilitate access to finance for entrepreneurs who want to invest in the agriculture and food sector,” he noted.

This funding will be provided for investments in facility construction and for machinery and equipment in the agricultural and food sectors, he added.

“We will provide repayable financing and credit guarantee system support up to 80% of the investment amount,” he added.

Addressing the program, Erdoğan said that the mechanism, which will also involve a credit guarantee fund, will provide approximately $500 million for farmers who are facing difficulties in accessing the credit funds.

“(The credit support) will create new channels for 400,000 of our farmers to market their products, and will create new employment opportunities for 250,000 of our citizens,” he said.

At the same time, Erdoğan said that the country is facing no issues with agricultural production and food supply security.

He added that the fertilizer stocks “are at sufficient levels,” as he recalled that the government has implemented a series of additional measures, ranging from reducing customs duties to zero to halting exports.

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U.S. consumer prices accelerated further in April as Washington’s war with Tehran continued to push energy prices higher, adding to pressures for many households.

The consumer price index (CPI) rose 3.8% from April 2025, according to data released by the Labor Department on Tuesday.

On a month-to-month basis, April prices rose 0.6% from March as gasoline prices rose 5.4% during the month. However, the month-over-month gain was down from 0.9% increase from February to March.

Labor Department figures showed that gasoline prices are up more than 28% compared with a year ago. However, the AAA motor club listed the average regular gallon of gasoline at above $4.50 on Tuesday, about 44% more than it cost last year at this time.

Excluding volatile food and energy costs, so-called consumer core prices rose 0.4% last month from March and 2.8% from April 2025, relatively modest readings that suggest the energy price burst has yet to spill over more broadly into other prices.

Grocery prices rose 0.7% from March to April as meat prices rose. Those prices had retreated slightly the month before.

‘Key drag’ on economy

“Inflation is the key drag on the U.S. economy now,” Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, wrote.

“There is a real financial squeeze underway. For the first time in three years, inflation is eating up all wage gains. This is a setback for middle-class and lower-income households and they know it. They are having to cut back on spending and stretch every dollar.”

In April, average hourly wages fell 0.3% from a year earlier after accounting for inflation – the first year-over-year drop in three years.

Inflation had been dropping more or less steadily since peaking with a 9.1% year-over-year spike in prices in June 2022, a surge caused by supply chain bottlenecks at the end of COVID-19 lockdowns and an energy price shock following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But inflation remained above the 2% target set by the Federal Reserve (Fed).

Then, the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, and Tehran responded by shutting off access to the Gulf of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes. Energy prices rocketed in response.

The Fed, which had been expected to cut its benchmark interest rates in 2026, has turned cautious as it waits to see how long the conflict lasts and whether higher energy prices spill over into other products and cause a broader inflationary outbreak.

President Donald Trump has lambasted the Fed and its outgoing chair, Jerome Powell, for refusing to slash rates to boost the economy.

Kevin Warsh, the president’s hand-picked choice to succeed Powell, is expected to be confirmed by the Senate this week, but it’s unclear whether Warsh would pursue lower rates given the uncertainties arising from the war – or whether he could persuade his colleagues on the Fed’s rate-setting committee to go along if he tried.

Some companies are also starting to feel the pain.

For example, Whirlpool, which makes KitchenAid and Maytag appliances, reported last week that revenue dropped nearly 10% in its most recent quarter and said that the war has caused a “recession-level industry decline″ that has undermined consumer confidence.

Grace King, 31 of Ames, Iowa, said that higher prices in the food aisle and at the pump are making her cut back on spending for things like clothing. The administrative assistant used to spend $200 per month on clothing, mostly on Amazon, but not anymore.

“There’s pressure basically everywhere from the groceries that I buy to the gas to fill up the tank,” she said.”

“I’ve severely cut back on my frill spending.”

For example, King noted that while it’s only a five-minute drive to work, she makes the trip twice a day. And if she needs to do any big shopping, that’s a 40-minute drive to malls in Des Moines, Iowa.

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Türkiye is becoming a maritime power while the world focuses on the naval arms race between China and the U.S., Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken said Tuesday.

“While all eyes are focused on the naval arms race between China and the U.S., Türkiye is quietly emerging as a maritime power,” Francken wrote on the social media platform X.

He is part of a delegation accompanying Belgium’s Queen Mathilde, who arrived in Istanbul on Sunday, leading a high-level economic mission aimed at strengthening trade and investment ties between Brussels and Ankara.

Francken’s remarks came after the delegation visited Sedef Shipyard in Istanbul.

He pointed to how Türkiye is not only ordering but also domestically building submarines, corvettes, frigates, destroyers and aircraft carriers.

“They are doing so quickly, with high quality and competitive prices. Turkish naval vessels are gradually gaining ground on the global market,” he added.

The delegation on Sunday visited the Turkish drone powerhouse Baykar, which Francken described as “unique” within NATO because “it has made permanent innovation its mantra.”

“This company pioneered AI-integrated armed drones. They are getting higher and flying higher and further,” he said.

Before the visit, Francken praised Türkiye’s defense industry as a “role model.” He said Belgium sees major potential for cooperation with Türkiye in the defense sector.

On Tuesday, Francken noted that the Turkish economy has grown rapidly over the past 20 years while also managing to emerge from the inflation storm it experienced in recent years. He said one lesson he took away was that “hard times require hard measures.”

“Istanbul is not only a gateway to Central Asia, but also to the Arab world – including in the media sphere. All major Arab media outlets are represented here,” Francken added.

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Online marketplace eBay announced Tuesday that it had rejected the recent $56 billion takeover offer from video game retailer GameStop, calling the unsolicited proposal “neither credible nor attractive.”

“eBay’s board is confident that the company, under its current management team, is well positioned to continue to drive sustainable growth, execute with discipline, and deliver long-term value for our shareholders,” board chairperson Paul Pressler said in a statement.

GameStop, well known among American gamers but a much smaller company than eBay, made its stock-and-cash deal in early May.

Analysts quickly expressed doubts that it would be able to finance the deal, though its CEO, Ryan Cohen, said in a television interview that “we have the ability to issue stock to get the deal done.”

GameStop has roughly $9.4 billion in available assets and said it had secured a commitment letter from the Canadian investment firm TD Securities for $20 billion in financing.

Its offer valued eBay at $125 per share, but in a sign that investors were sceptical of its success, eBay shares closed at just $108.13 on the Nasdaq composite on Monday.

In its statement, Pressler said, “We have sharpened our strategic focus, strengthened execution, enhanced our marketplace and seller experience, and consistently returned capital to shareholders.”

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