Located in the Karapınar district, Kalyon Karapınar Solar Power Plant one of the largest in Europe and among the biggest in the world stands out with its size equivalent to 2,600 football fields.
Consisting of 3.5 million solar panels, the plant has an installed capacity of 1,350 megawatts, enough to meet the household electricity needs of a city with a population of 6 million.
As the panels were gradually installed and put into operation, the plant reached full capacity electricity production in March 2023 and now generates 3 billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually.
Since its commissioning, the Karapınar Solar Power Plant has prevented the use of approximately USD 1 billion worth of natural gas.
So far, it has also avoided around 6.5 million tons of carbon emissions.
Kalyon Energy Board Member and General Manager Murtaza Ata told Anadolu Agency that while construction was still ongoing in 2020, the completed sections were gradually commissioned and began generating electricity.
Noting that the plant began full-capacity production in 2023, Ata said:
"Karapınar SPP has been generating electricity in phases since September 2020, contributing to the national economy. Since then, it has produced energy that has prevented approximately 6.5 million tons of carbon emissions. To date, it has generated around 10 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity—all from solar energy. This corresponds to about USD 1 billion worth of natural gas. If we had not produced this electricity, this deficit would have had to be covered with USD 1 billion worth of natural gas. In other words, this is a project that makes a significant contribution to the current account deficit, producing roughly 3 billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually. This translates to a direct contribution of approximately USD 300–400 million per year to the current account deficit."
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