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Tosyalı Demir Çelik and Yacizi Demir Celik are about to build solar power plants that would cover all their electricity needs. It would give the two Turkish steelmakers an advantage in shipping their products to the West as they would be exempted from carbon border taxes.
Even before the start of the transitional period of the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), high energy costs contributed to the closure of one steel plant in the Western Balkans, and another one is suffering heavy losses. Some other countries and companies in the sector in Southeastern Europe are making relative progress in decarbonization and CO2 pricing. Meanwhile, Turkish steelmakers aren’t wasting any time.
Tosyalı Demir Çelik is investing TRY 1.8 EUR (48.3 million) in the construction of a solar power plant of 88 MW in peak capacity in Toprakkale in the Osmaniye province. The project in the country’s south is envisaged to consist of photovoltaic panels of 730 W each.
The 147-hectare site is in the Cebelibereket Erzin industrial zone. The producer of iron and steel expects the solar power system to generate 245 GWh per year and supply its production facility in the area.
Construction works and installation should be completed in 17 months. The facility’s planned lifespan is 25 years. Tosyalı Demir Çelik is working on the project as part of its efforts to become a global player in green steel.
Yazıcı Demir Çelik signs turnkey deal for PV plant
Yazıcı Demir Çelik, which operates within Diler Holding, said it would build solar power plants of 50 MW in Afyon and 60 MW in Ankara.
According to reports in the Turkish media, the company signed an agreement with YEO Technology (YEO Teknoloji Enerji ve Endüstri) as a contractor.
The turnkey deal involves finding a location, obtaining usage rights and permits, conducting environmental impact assessment (EIA) as well as the construction of the photovoltaic plant, a high-voltage substation and power lines. The industrial producer highlighted its decarbonization targets as well as the EU’s policies aimed at achieving climate neutrality.
Electric arc furnaces are easier to decarbonize
Both Tosyalı Demir Çelik’s facility and Yazıcı Demir Çelik’s steel plant in Iskenderun in Hatay province in the southeast are electric arc furnaces. The technology is mostly for scrap steel, so greenhouse gas emissions are usually much lower than in blast furnaces. It is also much easier to decarbonize them.
The two Turkish steelmakers also said the solar power plants would cover their entire electricity needs. With proper verification and reporting, their products will be exempted from CBAM and other carbon border taxes in the West.
The Željezara Nikšić steel plant in Montenegro was owned by Tosçelik, part of Tosyalı Holding, before its closure a few years ago. Tosyalı Holding also makes aluminum. The struggling steelworks mentioned above is ArcelorMittal Zenica in Bosnia in Herzegovina.
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