Turkish solar panel manufacturers expanding their capacity

Kalyon Energy plans to invest another USD 100 million in its solar module factory. The company also obtained a EUR 249 million loan for a 390 MW photovoltaic project. Its competitor Smart Solar Technologies has launched solar cell production at its hub in Aliağa near Istanbul.

Together with a range of other technologies, China rules the world’s solar power market from equipment manufacturing to planning and building photovoltaic facilities. But Turkey is defying it. The country added a stunning 4.7 GW in installed capacity since the beginning of the year. Turkey relies on domestic technology development and investments, so solar panel manufacturers Kalyon Energy and Smart Solar Technologies are increasing capacity.

Conversely, the European Union is experiencing an exodus of such companies.

Turkey conditions participants in 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.

Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır said earlier this year that Turkey is the first in Europe in solar panel production.

Kalyon Energy arranges financing for seven solar parks of 390 MW in total

Kalyon Energy or Enerji completed its Konya Karapınar solar power plant last year. It has 1.35 GW in peak capacity, more than any facility of the kind in geographic Europe. Moreover, the company produced the equipment itself at its plant near Ankara.

Now there’s another project, for seven photovoltaic units of 390 MW in combined peak capacity in the provinces of Niğde, Gaziantep and Şanlıurfa.

The United Kingdom’s Export Credits Guarantee Department or UK Export Finance (UKEF) and Poland’s export credit agency KUKE said they together provided guarantees to Kalyon Energy for a EUR 249 million loan, being arranged by Standard Chartered Bank.

British exporter GE Vernova – via its subsidiary UK Grid Solutions – will supply and install inverter stations, power plant controllers and other critical equipment. Polish exporters will deliver security systems (including both software and equipment) and steel components, the announcement adds. UKEF also financed the Konya Karapınar project.

Solar panel manufacturing complex to be powered by own PV plant

A future solar park with a 157 MW peak in Viranşehir in Şanlıurfa will cover Kalyon PV’s entire manufacturing consumption, the division’s Chief Executive Officer Ersan Tüfekçi revealed recently. It will enable carbon-neutral solar panel manufacturing, he pointed out. The investment is valued at USD 90 million.

Tüfekçi noted that the company “broke China’s monopoly” in February by launching the production of seed crystals. It is a key element in making solar cells. It pushed the localization rate at the PV panel manufacturing complex up to 90%, its head stressed.

Tüfekçi: Kalyon PV broke China’s monopoly

Kalyon Energy aims to grow its operational solar and wind power plant portfolio to 2 GW by the end of the next year. The target for 2030 is 5 GW.

The renewables company expects to reach 500 MW in solar panel exports in 2025. It said it would invest another USD 100 million in the integrated factory.

Solar cell factory near Izmir launches regular production of solar cells

Smart Solar Technologies (Smart Güneş Teknolojileri) declared the start of regular production of solar cells at its facility in Aliağa. The site is in the Izmir province.

With a capacity of 800 MW per year, the company expressed the ambition to expand in the global market including the United States and the European Union.

Founded in 2014, Smart Solar Technologies built its first factory in Gebze near Istanbul in 2017. The solar module facility in Dilovası started production in 2022. That same year, the company entered the Borsa İstanbul stock exchange.

Turkey now has 16 GW in solar power installed, but it needs to more than double the capacity to reach its 2030 goal

Official data showed that Turkey has just topped 16 GW in operational solar power capacity. This year the country added a whopping 4.7 GW.

Turkey has a 32.9 GW goal for the segment for 2030, rising to 52.9 GW for 2035.