CW Enerji earmarked USD 520 million for the expansion of its solar panel manufacturing capacity in Antalya to 5 GW per year. It said it would benefit from the government’s HIT-30 incentives program.
While Europe is stagnating in solar panel production and some large facilities are even closing under pressure from China’s increasing global dominance, Turkey is expanding its industrial base across new green energy technologies. CW Enerji is about to invest USD 520 million in the construction of a photovoltaic equipment factory, Anadolu Agency reported.
The company said it would implement the project under the government’s HIT-30 incentives program for high technology. The location is in AOSB – Antalya Organized Industrial Zone in the country’s southern, Mediterranean region.
High domestic content enables access to subsidies
CW Enerji’s new facility, would complement the existing CW Solar Cell factory. It makes up to 1.2 GW of TOPCon high-efficiency solar cells per year and the company claims it is the largest in Europe.
The upcoming investment would enable an annual capacity of 5 GW by the end of the second phase, in 2028, according to the company. The products would have a domestic content of more than 80%, complying with the requirements for tax incentives, CW Enerji’s Chairman Tarık Sarvan said.
He founded the company in Turkey in 2010. It also makes other components and provides installation and maintenance services. CW Enerji has established subsidiaries in Munich, Germany, and Houston, Texas. Total solar panel capacity is 1.8 GW per year and it exports to nearly 60 countries, Sarvan added. He pointed out that the company’s target markets are the United States and Europe.
Dozens of companies manufacturing PV equipment in Turkey
Right before CW Enerji’s announcement, Astronergy allocated USD 700 million for its second solar module factory, in Balıkesir.
Early this year, 75 solar panel manufacturers operated in Turkey. Put together, their annual capacity was 44.5 GW. Three were making solar cells and their overall capacity was 6.1 GW per year.
The country is also strong in other technologies, like for geothermal power plants.
The government recently declared a 2035 target for solar and wind of 120 GW in total. At the end of June, Turkey’s total electricity capacity was 119,6 GW, of which photovoltaics accounted for just under 23 GW.