Astronergy receives import license for solar modules in Turkey

Turkey is remaining a very attractive prospect for solar developers and manufacturers, if they can only get their foot in the door, as the Turkish government is highly favoring domestic companies in an attempt to cultivate a self-sustaining domestic market. German company Astronergy, however, has managed to get a grip on the market, by obtaining a license for the importing of solar modules.

The import license that it has received is for 100 MW of PV modules, to be used on solar projects within the country. It was granted by the Turkish Ministry of Economics, and is one of the few that the Minstry has granted to foreign companies.

With 3 GW of PV expected to be installed in the country in the next two years, it is unsurprising that Astronergy already has supply contracts in place for 50 MW of the modules. With this increase in demand developing, the company is already planning to start up new production lines at its facility in Frankfurt.

“The local investors are specifically asking for high-quality modules, and they are prepared to pay more for them,” commented Astronergy CEO Thomas Volz. “Quality is worth it, because losses in yield are far less common than they are with PV projects that use poor quality modules. Our highly-automated production also ensures that our modules quality is not only very high, but also consistent.”

There is huge potential for solar development within Turkey, however, it has been set within certain parameters, as the government last year decided to push its support for domestically manufactured PV products. This included strict limits on imports of solar modules from outside of the country, and tax incentives for local companies to increase their production capacities.