IHC buys 50% of Kalyon’s renewable energy branch including 1 GW solar park

International Holding Co. (IHC) from Abu Dhabi will pay USD 490 million to take over 50% of Kalyon Energy and participate in new solar and wind power projects. The Turkish target company is nearing the completion of the Konya Karapınar solar power plant with a peak capacity of 1.35 GW.

Following a landmark deal between the United Arab Emirates and Turkey, services management and investment conglomerate IHC agreed with Kalyon Holding to buy 50% of Kalyon Energy (Enerji).

The Emirati company said the portfolio consists of the Konya Karapınar solar power plant project of 1 GW, a 1 GW wind power project from the government’s YEKA program, a 100 MW solar project in Niğde, a future photovoltaic unit of 50 MW in Gaziantep and other renewable energy endeavors. IHC will purchase the stake for USD 490 million through its subsidiary International Energy Holding (IEH).

Abu Dhabi Development Holding has agreed in November to participate in renewable energy projects in Turkey of 3 GW in total

Top Emirati and Turkish officials signed investment deals in November worth several billion dollars. At the time, sovereign investment fund Abu Dhabi Development Holding or ADQ inked a strategic cooperation agreement with Turkey that included 3 GW in renewable energy projects. It also signed a cooperation agreement with Kalyon.

IHC has a market capitalization of USD 167 billion, which makes it the largest company traded on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. The deal with Kalyon is its second largest so far in the green energy sector, as four months ago it invested USD 2 billion in three subsidiaries of the Indian Adani Group.

Karapınar solar power plant to be completed by year-end

Kalyon Holding’s Chairman of the Board Cemal Kalyoncu said the investment would be used for new solar and wind energy projects. The company earlier announced it would finish the Karapınar solar power plant by the end of the year.

The facility is set to reach 1.35 GW in peak power or direct current capacity, translating to 1 GW in alternating current (AC), which is the maximum that it would be able to deliver to the transmission network. The solar power plant, valued at USD 1 billion, is set to be among the world’s ten largest.

Late last year the company secured a syndicated loan of USD 812 million for the Karapınar facility. The 12-year package is led by British export credit agency UK Export Finance.

Kalyon to double production capacity at its solar panel plant

Kalyon Group includes a solar panel plant in Ankara with an annual capacity of 1 GW. Kalyoncu stressed the plan is to double it. According to information from its website, the holding also intends to build a wind turbine plant.

Kalyon has 1 GW in its wind power portfolio that it won at an auction in 2017

As part of a consortium, five years ago the company won an auction for power purchase agreements with the government for 1 GW in wind power. It said it would build the units in the provinces of Edirne, Kırklareli, Eskişehir and Sivas. It was the first tender within the Renewable Energy Resources Area (YEKA) scheme.

At the latest YEKA auction in June, Kalyon won with three wind power projects of 160 MW in total.