Photo: Limak
Limak Renewable Energy has begun to generate electricity from 60 MW out of its Erzin-1 solar power plant of 140 MW in peak capacity. When completed, it is set to become the second-largest photovoltaic facility in Turkey.
Limak Group of Companies announced that a subsidiary commissioned a part of the Erzin-1 solar power plant, which consists of bifacial panels. The project won a power purchase agreement at an auction under the Renewable Energy Resources Area (YEKA) subsidy scheme.
The facility of 140 MW in peak capacity is scheduled to be completed next month. It would be the first from the fourth YEKA round for photovoltaics (YEKA GES-4) in the segment for the districts of Erzin and Viranşehir. Also known as Yeşilkent, Erzin is a municipality and district in Hatay province in the country’s south.
Fostering domestic equipment and labor has made the solar power industry in Turkey one of the strongest in the world
Turkey conditions the winners of renewable energy auctions to source equipment and labor domestically. The government is also handing out hefty subsidies for solar module and wind turbine plants and other technologies.
The country recently topped 16 GW in operational solar power capacity. Turkey has a 32.9 GW goal for photovoltaics for 2030, rising to 52.9 GW for 2035.
Limak to match Ecogreen’s new solar power plant in connection capacity
The annual output from the Erzin-1 project is estimated at 270 GWh. It is equivalent to the electricity needs of 106,000 local households. Limak launched production at the first two segments, of 60 MW in total peak power, in August.
The facility would surpass Ecogreen’s solar power plant in the Central Anatolian Bor district in Niğde province, also from the overall YEKA GES-4 round, and become the second in nominal size in Turkey. However, both have a 100 MW grid connection.
Karapınar, located in Central Anatolia, keeps the top spot in the chart. It is even bigger than any photovoltaic system in Europe. The facility has 1.35 GW in nameplate size and a 1 GW connection to the transmission network.
Contractors were GE Vernova, Inogen
Limak financed the endeavor with loans from Ziraat Bank and Euler Hermes (now Allianz Trade) through DZ Bank. Last October, Limak Energy (Limak Enerji) signed an agreement on the supply, installation and commissioning with GE Vernova, which has spun off from General Electric, and İnojen Enerji (Inogen Energy).
The project created 500 jobs in the construction phase, the company said. It spans 200 hectares.
Limak Energy (Limak Enerji) was seventh in the country at the end of last year in electricity generation capacity, with 2.58 GW, in the MW100 Turkey list. In terms of production, it was sixth, generating 9.5 TWh in 2023. The firm held 1.11 GW in hydropower capacity and 900 MW in gas power plants, making it sixth and eighth, respectively.
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