Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan inaugurated Europe’s largest solar power plant constructed at a single location. The Kalyon Karpinar Solar Power Plant is situated in the central province of Konya and has a capacity of 1350 MW.
The president stated at the event that “Turkiye won’t be a nation in need of resources for energy, but rather a country that is capable of exporting energy.”
This project, with more than 3.2 million solar panels will generate electricity of around 3 million kWh per year. That is enough to cover the electricity needs of 2 million people. The plant will also save $450 million worth of fossil fuels.
The solar plant is located in an area with the most sun exposure, covering 20 million square meters. The plant is now operational, and it will prevent $1.5 million tons in carbon emissions each year.
Kalyon Energy invested $1 Billion in the plant as part of Turkey’s Renewable Energy Resource Zone initiative or YEKA. YEKA is a program that promotes the development of renewable energy in areas with a high concentration of renewable energy resources.
Installing this huge solar plant increased the solar energy share in Turkiye’s total energy by 20 per cent. Renewable energy also accounts for more than half of Turkiye’s installed capacity.
The capacity of solar power installations has reached 9820 MW. Reports suggest that the renewable energy portfolio of the country will grow by over 1 GW in wind and solar capacity.
