A joint venture formed by Kalyon Enerji and Hanwha Q CELLS won the tender to build a 1 GW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in the Karapınar region in Turkey on March 20th,2017.
Four consortia were shortlisted in previous weeks including Limak - CMEC - Hareon Solar; Kalyoncu - Hanwha Group; Calık Enerji - Solargiga; and AKC - Günes. The winning bid was US$70 per MWh of solar power valid for 15 years and companies have 30 years of usage rights. All components that will be used in this project must be manufactured locally and the winner will also have to install in less than two years a solar panel manufacturing plant of at least 500 MW in Turkey.
The International Solar Energy Society’s Turkey Division president emphasized that this tender that was held under the Renewable Energy Resources Zone (YEKA) framework is one of the most important part of the Turkish government's goal of utilizing local energy sources.
Kaleli said:
''First of all, we congratulate Kalyon Enerji and Hanwha Q CELLS who won the competition representing Turkey solar energy industry, for these important achievements. I have no doubt that this project, to which our Ministry attaches great importance, will be completed before the specified time-frame. With the conclusion of the competition, Turkey has already made the biggest step towards the establishment of solar energy investments, and more importantly, a domestic and national solar energy industry.”