December 2, 2025
by in News

One of biggest PV parks on Earth expanding to 1.85 GW

A solar power plant of 500.5 MW in peak capacity will be built just south of the existing Kalyon Karapınar photovoltaic park in Turkey’s Konya province. It is already one of the biggest in the world, especially excluding China. Kalyon Enerji said it would become a 1.85 GW complex.

Turkey hosts Europe’s largest solar power plant. Or rather, it hosts the largest PV plant among all European countries, because Kalyon Karapınar is located in Konya province in Asia Minor.

At 1.35 GW in peak capacity and a 1 GW grid connection, it is one of the biggest in the world, especially if China is excluded. Namely, according to available data, most of the top 20 PV parks are located there. Kalyon Enerji, a joint venture of Kalyon Holding and International Holding Co. (IHC), based in the United Arab Emirates, completed the facility in 2023.

The company recently began groundworks on its expansion by 500.5 MW in peak terms, translating to 385 MW on the high-voltage network. Kalyon Enerji expects to finish it by the end of next year. It is already building the transformer as well.

Spanning 643 hectares, the site is just south of Kalyon Karapınar. The company expects the new unit to account for over 1 TWh of the estimated 4 TWh in annual output at the solar power complex.

With nearly one million new panels, total number would climb to more than four million.

Kalyon Karapınar introduced agrisolar concept to Turkey

Kalyon Karapınar was the winning project at Turkey’s first renewable energy auction, in 2017. The company won state support for the 500.5 MW extension in February this year, also under the Renewable Energy Zones (REZ or YEKA) mechanism.

Construction of the existing facility started in August 2020 on degraded and desert land. The operator’s affiliate Kalyon PV manufactured the solar panels, with a content rate of 80%. In the meantime, it reportedly climbed to some 90%.

Kalyon PV manufactures solar panels with a 90% domestic content rate

The solar power plant features single-axis trackers, moving the panels east to west along the sun’s path.

According to Kalyon Enerji, increased shading and the soil’s higher water retention capability enabled the creation of a microclimate with lower temperatures and more biodiversity. The giant PV system in Konya was the first in Turkey to allow farmers in the area to use it for sheep grazing, the company said

Wind, solar reach 39 GW in total

Notably, another round of auctions was completed this week, with 650 MW awarded across seven provinces. The authorities earlier canceled the bidding for two YEKA zones due to permitting delays.

Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar said the combined capacity of wind and photovoltaics in Turkey has reached 39 GW. It means that solar power climbed to around 25 GW.

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July 2, 2025
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Turkey selects first hydropower reservoir for YEKA floating solar power auction

The reservoir of state-owned Electricity Generation Corp.’s Demirköprü hydropower plant is the first proposed area for Turkey’s planned floating solar power auction. The YEKA support mechanism provides grid permits for several decades and a period with guaranteed prices.

Within its ambition to grow the solar and wind power capacity to 120 GW in total by 2035, the Turkish government is counting on floating photovoltaics as well. The Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources proposed the reservoir of the Demirköprü hydropower plant for the first dedicated auction for the technology.

Detailed studies of the area are underway under the framework for the Renewable Energy Zones (REZ) state support mechanism, the announcement revealed. The scheme is better known by its Turkish acronym YEKA.

Demirköprü is on the Gediz river, east of Izmir, in Manisa province. Its owner is state-owned Electricity Generation Corp. (Elektrik Üretim A.Ş. – EÜAŞ). The 69 MW hydropower plant’s dam holds a reservoir with a regular surface of just under 48 square kilometers.

The Demirköprü hydropower plant’s reservoir spans almost 48 square kilometers under regular conditions

The country’s second floating solar power plant came online early this year. The only other such facilities in the region that Balkan Green Energy News covers are in Romania and Albania.

Turkey held auctions for 7.85 GW in total for wind and solar power, of which 3.8 GW for PV projects. Winners get grid permits for several decades and a period with guaranteed prices.

The country’s total electricity production capacity reached 119.3 GW by the end of May, of which 72.5 GW ran on renewable sources. Solar power accounted for 22.6 GW, compared to 20.4 GW in mid-February.

The ministry selected the first offshore wind power zones in August 2023.

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June 4, 2025
by in News

Wind power investments in Turkey surge as major plants inaugurated in May

Investments in wind power in Turkey are on an upward trajectory – this year they are expected to surpass USD 1.5 billion, translating to 1.5 GW of new capacity, President of the Turkish Wind Energy Association (TÜREB) Ibrahim Erden estimated. Among other factors, the country has an extensive manufacturing base for the equipment. Several major wind farms were inaugurated last month.

The first wind turbine in Turkey was installed in 1998, and now total capacity is nearing 14 GW. The growth rate is picking up amid administrative reforms and state support through renewable energy auctions, requiring a high rate of domestically sourced equipment.

President of the Turkish Wind Energy Association (TÜREB) Ibrahim Erden said investments last year amounted to USD 1.3 billion, with 1.3 GW installed. The figure will top USD 1.5 billion in 2025, resulting in over 1.5 GW of new capacity, in his view.

Erden attributed the expansion to new licenses for projects with storage and projects from the YEKA mechanism of renewable energy auctions coming online. Investors from the Middle East and China participated in the bidding, he pointed out.

TÜREB’s chief said he expects 2 GW next year and gradual growth to 3.5 GW by 2028 or 2029.

There are 150 manufacturers in Turkish wind industry

There are 150 manufacturers of wind turbine components and accompanying gear in Turkey, covering 65% of the technology. The country reportedly hosts some 380 wind power plants, with more than ten turbines each on average.

The Grand National Assembly is expected to vote soon on legislation aimed at cutting the permitting process by half, to 24 months or less.

Hundreds of megawatts spring up in western provinces

Several big wind farms were inaugurated last month. Atares-2, in the Karacabey district of Bursa in Turkey’s northwest, has 113 MW. It consists of 23 turbines and the investment is worth almost EUR 150 million. CABA, the investor, expects to generate 400 GWh per year.

Eksim expanded its wind power plant in the Geyve district, southeast of Istanbul, in Sakarya province. The original facility had 11 turbines of 52.8 MW in total. The company’s project is for another 14 turbines of 7 MW apiece.

According to Eksim’s website, the combined installed capacity reached 129.8 MW out of 150.8 MW planned overall.

Enerjisa’s Uygar project would at the moment be the second-biggest wind farm in Turkey

Yıldızlar Group and ERN Holding built a 148.8 MW wind farm in Denizgöründü in the Çanakkale district and province. The location is near the Dardanelles Strait, on the country’s Asian side. The companies earlier said the Gülpınar facility would reach 194 MW.

Enerjisa Üretim, which won most of the capacity at the last YEKA auction, launched production at the first part of its 30th power plant. The Uygar wind farm in Balıkesir is set to grow to 250 MW. Currently, it would make it the second-biggest in the country, after Soma.

The Uygar site also spans parts of the neighboring provinces of Manisa, where Soma is located, and Izmir. Its 60 turbines are seen generating 1 TWh per year, according to the project. Enerjisa Üretim is a joint venture between German E.ON and Turkey-based Sabanci.

City of Kayseri builds first municipal wind park in Turkey

In addition, the Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality in central Turkey inaugurated its three wind turbines in Incesu district. They were built to cover the local trams and electric buses, the local authority said.

The municipal transportation firm is operating the 21 MW facility, which will produce 60 GWh per year. It is the first municipal wind farm among 30 largest cities. Kayseri also has its own solar power plants.

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