A country has just made an unprecedented decision in the midst of its ecological transition, with a photovoltaic park that experts are already calling “the largest on Earth”. They have installed 3 million solar panels and have placed a “colossus” in the middle that can be seen from space. Do you know where it is and what it is capable of? We tell you all about the project that has scientists halfway around the world on tenterhooks and that could take the lead from China and its 3D printed photovoltaic cells as newspapers.
This is the largest-ever photovoltaic power plant: This country wants to “squeeze” the Sun
Kalyon Karapinar Solar Power Plant situated in Karapinar, Konya, Türkiye has pride of place as the biggest solar power plant on earth. It stands today as a symbol of Türkiye’s determination on the path to renewable energy sources with its installed capacity of 1,350 MW, giving an idea of the potential of such a plant.
The Kalyon Karapinar Solar Power Plant features several impressive statistics:
- Installed capacity: 1,350 MWp, thus becoming one of the five largest solar power plants in the world.
- Solar panels: Approximately 3.5 million, covering an area of 20 million square meters, which an area equivalent to 2,600 footballs.
- Annual electricity generation: About 2.9 billion kilowatt-hours; This meant supplying the energy needs of a city of 2 million people with the enhanced quality of clean energy.
- Carbon emissions prevented: In this case 1.7 million tonnes annually
- Local content: Out of the photovoltaic panels that has been installed, 80% of them had been produced by Kalyon PV Solar Technologies factory based in Ankara.
- Solar tracking system: Single axis, east-west tracking system boosts the ability of the panels to generate power by 15% than those with a fixed orientation angle.
4 years of development and 3 million solar panels installed: This colossus is in the middle, and works like that
The Kalyon Karapinar Solar Power Plant construction started in August 2020, shortly after which the power plant became fully operational in March 2023. The project has a financial possibility with YEKA (Renewable Energy Resource Areas) – a competitive tender program launched by the Ministry of Energy and the Natural Resources, Turkey.
Kalyon Holding, which undertook the project, already has a background in investment in renewable energy resources. They have been striving to do their best to address the energy demands of future generations through clean power. As you can see, the Kalyon Karapinar Solar Power Plant is now the world’s biggest photovoltaic power station.
Türkiye has taken the lead in renewable energies, but it’s not without problems: Other large-scale projects worldwide
There is no dearth of other ambitious projects back in Türkiye. Kalyon Holding has one other solar and wind power plant under construction and others in the development PDDoS. Some of their upcoming projects include:
- Bor-3 SPP: Solar power plant at the vicinity of the Bor Organized Industrial Zone, estimated by 100 MWe / 130 MWp proposed by Arcelor Mittal and should be built by the end of the year 2023.
- Viranşehir SPP: Three solar power plants with a total project capacity of 195 MWp to be completed by 2024.
- Gaziantep SPP: A 65 MWp solar plant to be commissioned by the end of fiscal year 2023 in Gaziantep.
- YEKA WPP: The potential project of the combating consortium is a total of six Wind Power Plants with the aggregate capacity of one thousand MW on the use of wind turbines made in the country.
Türkiye is already one of the pioneers in large-scale solar projects, however, similar activities and programs are also being carried out in other parts of the world. In the United States, for instance, the Gemini Solar Project which is located in Nevada will offer 690MW on completion and will be among the largest solar projects in the United States.
What today is the largest photovoltaic park in history, tomorrow could be a further step in large-scale power generation. Why do we refer to this? Remember that one problem with this type of project is the impact on natural areas, something that is not so obvious in the middle of the desert. You will probably remember a similar park in the Mojave Desert that we talked about several weeks ago, which we described as “covering Las Vegas with solar panels”.
