Turkey opens Europe’s largest solar power plant as part of renewable energy drive

Turkey is set to launch Europe's largest solar power plant on a single site and one of the world's five largest, as part of its drive to boost renewable energy production. Developed by Kalyon Energy, the $1 billion plant in the central province of Konya has an installed capacity of 1,350 MW and will prevent 1.5 million tons of carbon emissions annually.

The facility, which uses more than 3.2 million solar panels, will generate 3 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, enough to power 2 million people and prevent the use of $450 million of fossil fuel equivalent resources.

The project is part of Turkey's Renewable Energy Resource Zone (YEKA) initiative, which aims to establish renewable facilities in areas with high concentrations of at least one renewable energy source, such as wind or solar power.

YEKA projects use investments from local investors and/or consortiums to manufacture equipment and construct large-scale electricity generation facilities. The Kalyon Karapınar Solar Power Plant differs from others listed as large solar parks in that it is funded by a group of investors or consortiums rather than a single investor.

The solar panels in the facility come from Turkey's first integrated solar ingot-wafer-module-cell production factory in Ankara, which was established by Kalyon Solar Energy Technologies Production Company and started production in August 2020.

The Kalyon Solar Technologies Factory marks the first fully integrated solar panel production center to gather all stages of solar panel production, including research and development (R&D), under a single roof. Kalyon PV's yearly 1,000 MW production capacity was increased from the initial 500 MW and is planned to be lifted to more than 2,000 MW through a $150 million to $200 million investment.

Turkey's current renewable capacity accounts for over half of the country's total installed power capacity, which stood at 104,488 MW by April 7. After hydropower, which has a capacity of around 31,600 MW, wind is the second-biggest renewable source of electricity at 11,490 MW. Solar power installations reached 9,820 MW in the same period. At least 1,000 MW of wind and solar energy capacity each is expected to be added to the country's renewable portfolio in 2023.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts that Turkey will see around 64% growth in its renewable energy capacity to 90 gigawatts (GW) in the next five years, with almost 75% of this addition being solar and wind. This growth will help it rank fourth in Europe and among the 10 biggest renewable markets in the world. The Kalyon Karapınar Solar Power Plant is a significant step forward for Turkey's renewable energy industry and demonstrates the country's commitment to sustainable development.