ESSAYS ON ENERGY ECONOMICS AND SOLAR ENERGY

Date

2026-2-27

Author

Tüzün, Furkan

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This dissertation explores the industrial adoption of solar energy in Türkiye through a three-essay holistic approach. As Türkiye aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2053, transitioning energy-intensive industrial sectors from fossil fuels to renewable energy is critical. The first study re-examines the growth-energy nexus using Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression (MGWR) to incorporate a spatial dimension that is often missing in the existing literature. Results indicate that the relationship between economic growth and consumption of natural gas, oil, and electricity varies significantly across Türkiye, suggesting that aggregate national models may overlook local dynamics. The most striking result is that growth is negatively associated with electricity consumption under the license-exempt regulatory framework, suggesting that the types of renewables generally adopted by the industrial sectors do not necessarily promote growth. The second study employs semi-structured interviews with stakeholders in Organised Industrial Zones (OIZs) to examine potential factors underlying industrial PV adoption in Türkiye. It identifies key drivers as fluctuating electricity prices, energy security and climate change policies. Among the significant challenges are infrastructural and spatial limitations, bureaucratic hurdles, lack of knowledge, and financial constraints. The final study introduces the Photovoltaic Enabler Index (PVEI) to unify these perspectives. Employing panel econometric models, it confirms the impact of the previously identified drivers and challenges on real license-exempt PV capacity across Türkiye. Collectively, these essays provide a comprehensive framework for understanding industrial energy transitions and offer actionable policy recommendations to accelerate the integration of solar energy in Türkiye.

Subject Keywords

Growth-Energy, Renewables, Photovoltaics, Industrial Sectors, Türkiye

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/118731

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis