Capacity will double, employment will increase

With the investments made in renewable energy and the increase in export opportunities in Turkey, the button was pressed to double the production capacity of the Kalyon Solar Technologies Factory. The capacity of the factory, where solar panel production is made with domestic and national facilities, will be increased from 500 Megawatts to 1000 Megawatts until June 2021. With the increase in capacity, employment will increase from one thousand 400 to 2 thousand 100.

An agreement was signed with China-based CETC to increase the capacity of the Kalyon Solar Technologies Factory, which was established with an investment of 400 million dollars in the Capital Organized Industrial Zone and started operating on August 19. According to the plan, by gathering 4 stages of solar panel production, including R&D, under one roof; The capacity of the factory, which is the first in the world, will be increased from 500 Megawatts in cell and solar panel production to 1000 Megawatts.

Deputy Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Abdullah Tancan, Kalyon Holding Chairman Cemal Kalyoncu, CETC Chairman Zhaoxiong Chen attended the signing ceremony held via video conference system, while the capacity increase works will be completed by June 2021.

Both at home and abroad

In the agreement made between Turkey and China via video conference, Cemal Kalyoncu, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kalyon Holding, shared information about the capacity increase by saying, "We are making new investments in renewable energy sources on behalf of the future of our country and our people": "Although we have just opened our factory, we have decided to expand our investment. Because our country has a high solar energy potential. In addition, when we look at the rising need in the world, we see that the export doors are open and there are serious demands from both domestic and abroad. We have a long-standing fruitful cooperation with CETC. We worked together with CETC on the installation of our existing factory. Today, we are signing an agreement on the purchase of the main equipment required for our capacity increase investment. In our additional investment, the first production will start in June 2021. Our employment number will increase from one thousand 400 people to 2 thousand 100 people."

"The result of the established cooperation"

Zhaoxiong Chen, Chairman of the Board of Directors of CETC, emphasized the cooperation between Turkey and China as well as between Kalyon Holding and CETC: "China and Turkey, the two major countries, continue their cooperation in various fields steadily. There is an important cooperation between Kalyon Holding, one of the largest companies in Turkey, and CETC, China's largest high-tech institution. Thanks to the sincere cooperation we established last year by overcoming challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic, Turkey's first photovoltaic industrial chain production line was established, which was highly praised by President Erdoğan. The Covid-19 pandemic continues to affect the world, but it cannot stop our confidence and determination to work together. CETC sees this agreement as an opportunity to deepen its cooperation with Kalyon Holding. "

To be installed for $ 1 billion

The solar panels produced with domestic and national facilities at the Kalyon Solar Technologies Factory, which became operational on August 19, 2020 with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, started to be used in the installation of the Karapınar Solar Power Plant in the first stage. 20 million square meters; When the power plant, which is being installed on an area the size of approximately 2,600 football fields, is completed, it will be the only man-made structure in Turkey visible from space. The total investment cost of the power plant will be $ 1 billion and when completed, it will meet the annual electricity needs of 2 million people per year. The installation of the solar power plant started on August 19, 2020, and the installed power has reached 40 Megawatts so far and electricity production has started in the plant.

Support for energy production

An R&D Center was established at the Kalyon Solar Technologies Factory, where more than 100 researchers will work with the aim of producing the technology of the future. The R&D Center, which has a closed area of 2,500 m², also has a 5,000 m² open field test platform.In the R&D Center, joint projects will be carried out with Hasan Kalyoncu University, METU Solar Research Center and TÜBİTAK within the scope of university-sector cooperation. By making R&D partnerships with the world's leading institutions and organizations that are experts in their fields, it is aimed to develop the domestic sub-industry and raw material supply chain as well as the production of domestic and national technology.