Mediterranean resort city of Alanya to build its fifth municipal solar power plant

The Alanya Municipality decided to build its fifth photovoltaic plant, as the model has enabled substantial savings for its electricity costs since 2017. The Turkish Mediterranean resort city is promoting solar power as an environmentally friendly investment tool.

Solar power plants have proven to be an important source of income for local authorities, especially in the context of the energy crisis that erupted in 2021 and led to a spike in electricity costs. For municipalities and government institutions, investing in rooftop photovoltaics has become mainstream. Turkey is taking the initiative a step further in the region of Southeastern Europe, as several municipalities already have ground-mounted installations and the trend is spreading.

The coastal city of Alanya on the Mediterranean Sea, one of the country’s major tourist resorts, installed the first three facilities in 2017 and the fourth one came online in 2019. The solar power plants generated 29.8 GWh so far. The local authority said it saved TRL 33.8 million in the local budget.

Several municipalities in Turkey already own ground-mounted installations and the trend is spreading

The sum is currently equivalent to EUR 1.65 million, but the exchange rate has jumped by four and a half times in the past five years, so the real gain has actually been much higher.

Environmental awareness has been an important factor for the municipality to turn to renewable energy sources, Mayor Adem Murat Yücel pointed out. The initial motive was to leave nature clean for future generations and promote Alanya as a green city, he added. The next step is to build another municipal solar power plant, with a nameplate capacity of 4.5 MW, the mayor underscored.

The town of Tonya in Trabzon province in northern Turkey commissioned its first solar power facility in 2020

Elsewhere, the Uzunköprü Municipality is pressing ahead with a municipal solar power project of 1.6 MW. The local authority has just said the endeavor won’t need an environmental impact assessment study. The city is located on the border with Greece. It valued the project at EUR 1.25 million.

The city of Çorum in northern Anatolia has launched works on the construction of a 500 kW photovoltaic plant in November. The town of Tonya in Trabzon province in northern Turkey commissioned its first solar power facility in 2020 after tapping on European funds and obtaining a bank loan. The unit has a capacity of 850 kW.