Turkey

Project partners Hanwha Q Cells and local company Kalyon Enerji appear to have ended their partnership and to be negotiating the terms of a ‘divorce’.

Turkey appears to have installed a staggering 2,416 MW of new PV capacity in 2018, although careful study of the data may curb any excitement and solar’s role in the Turkish electricity mix remains negligible, with coal still dominant.

The procurement exercise, intended for the deployment of large-scale projects across three locations, was to have been held on January 29. The tender will be re-issued this year – and it may include storage.

A total of 1.58 GW of new PV systems have been registered with Turkey’s grid administrator in 2018. Of this new capacity, 1.51 GW is in the unlicensed project segment, for arrays up to 1 MW in capacity, while the remaining 63 MW is for larger projects that had been successful in bidding for PEKA auctions.

Three seperate tenders will be held for the deployment of large-scale solar plants across three locations, chosen by the Turkish Government. Selected developers will not be required to open a module factory, as in the last tender, but will have to buy at least 60% of the necessary modules from Turkish panel makers. The new maximum price has been set slightly lower than the final price of the previous 1 GW solar auction, held in 2017.

According to the Solar Energy Roadmap, released by Turkish PV association, Günder, the country may even achieve 38 GW of installed solar power by 2030. Several factors, however, could hinder this projected growth.

Turkey’s Akfen Renewable Energies this week signed a new $363 million loan with six international and Turkish banks, to build 327 MW of new solar and wind power capacity.

Strong local content requirements may be embedded in the tender, according to the first draft of its rules, with selected projects required to rely on a 60% quota of modules made in Turkey. A 30 MW/ 90 MWh (AC) storage project will also be included at one of the three sites identified for the tender.

Overall, the Turkish renewable energy company secured funds in the amount of €102 million, a sum that will be invested in wind and solar projects with a combined capacity of 327 MW. The lender was the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).