Turkey’s second-largest solar power plant is taking shape

Ecogreen said it would put its 130 MW photovoltaic system in Niğde into operation by the end of the month, as planned. The facility with GE’s equipment is set to become second in size in the solar power category in Turkey.

Denizli-based Ecogreen, which produces organic fertilizers and energy from biomass and biogas, is about to commission a utility-scale photovoltaic park with running on latest technology. The company from southwestern Turkey said it would launch the facility in the Central Anatolian Bor district in Niğde province by the end of August, as planned, Anadolu reported.

The solar power plant is envisaged to have 130 MW in peak capacity and a 100 MW connection, in alternating current terms, to the transmission grid. The investor won a power purchase agreement at the government’s YEKA GES-4 round of auctions in April of last year amid tight competition.

Kalyon completed the biggest solar power plant in Turkey, ten times larger than Ecogreen’s facility, earlier this year

Two other firms submitted the lowest bids for the two remaining lots of the same size, but Ecogreen is set to be the first to finish its facility. It would be the second largest in Turkey. One of the remaining winners at the YEKA GES-4 tender was Kalyon, which completed the country’s biggest solar power plant, ten times larger, earlier this year.

Ecogreen said its project in the vicinity of the village of Emen would generate enough electricity to meet the needs of 300,000 households in the country. It has hired General Electric for design, engineering, procurement and commissioning. The works began in May of last year.

The location spans 200 hectares, of which single-axis bifacial panels would cover 45 hectares, Ecogreen said. It estimated the annual output at 300 GWh per year. The photovoltaic system will consist of over 244,000 solar panels, the company added.

It also said the facility would be secured with military-grade radar technology.