The largest solar energy facility in Europe was officially inaugurated recently by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan after approximately 8 years of planning and development. Erdoğan is the 12th and current president of Turkey, where the facility Kalyon Karapinar Solar Power Station is built.
The Kalyon Karapinar Solar Power Station is particularly built in the Fatih neighbourhood, Konya Karapinar Province, Central Anatolia Region. It sits in an area of approximately 4,942 acres, equivalent to 2600 football fields.
The facility features more than 3.2 million solar panels equipped with the east-west axis solar tracking system (single-axis tracker). Reportedly, this system increases power generation efficiency by 15% compared to fixed-angle panels.
In addition to the solar panels, the facility features a gigantic central control building in the middle of the property. The main function of the building is to provide a technological infrastructure for controlling the power plant. However, it is also considered as an interface representing sustainable energy technologies according to Arch Daily.
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Kalyon Karapinar Solar Power Station energy capacity and significance
The largest solar energy facility in Europe has an installed capacity of 1.35 GWp. It can generate nearly 3 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually enough to cater to the power needs of up to 2 million people.
With this capacity, Kalyon Karapinar Solar Power Station is Turkey’s largest single source of solar power. It is solely responsible for a 20% growth in the country’s solar energy capacity and renewable energy capacity at large.
In addition to electricity generation, which will significantly help reduce the country’s energy dependence and save the country US$ 450 million used in fossil fuel resources, the Kalyon Karapinar Solar Power Station will also help prevent approximately 1.7 million tonnes of carbon emissions per year.
The team behind the largest solar energy facility in Europe
Kalyon Karapinar Solar Power Station was developed by Kalyon Energy, an affiliate of Kalyon Holding, under the Renewable Energy Resource Area (YEKA).
China Electronics Technology Corporation (CETC) together with Kalyon Energy were in charge of the installation of the solar panels as well as the construction of a PV module manufacturing facility in which the solar panels were manufactured.
Genel Elektrik Sistemleri (GES) was contracted for equipment supply, basic and detailed design, testing, erection, and commissioning of the 400kV and 154kV substations for the solar plant. Vekon on the other hand was contracted to manufacture and supply the profile structure for the plant whereas, Chain Logistics handled the transporting of the projects solar.
Other companies involved in the Kalyon Karapinar Solar Power Station project, just to mention a few, include Nexten Enerji, RINA, and Bilgin Architects who designed the project’s central control building.
Funding for the Kalyon Karapinar Solar Power Station project
The construction of the Kalyon Karapinar Solar Power Station cost slightly over US $1 billion. The project was funded through grants from the U.K. Export Finance (UKEF), JPMorgan Chase and Denizbank, Işbank.
Development Investment Bank of Turkey, Garanti BBVA, Industrial Development Bank of Turkey (TSKB), VakıfBank and GE Energy Financial Services also contributed in the project.
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