Solar Power Project
Hanwha Q cell landed an order to build the largest solar power plant project in Turkey.
According to the Turkish daily Hurriet on March 21, a consortium formed by Hanwha Q cell of Korea and Kalyon of Turkey was selected as the successful bidder to build a Turkish solar power plant worth a total of 1.5 trillion won (US$1.3 billion). Hanwha Q cell-Kalyon Consortium received the order by proposing the lowest power generation cost of US$0.0699 per kilowatt hour (kWh) among the competitors in the bidding,
The power plant, which will be located in Karapinar, Konya Province, Turkey, is a hybrid private power plant including a 1GW power plant and a facility to manufacture 500MW photovoltaic modules. The consortium is a 50-50 joint venture between Hanwha Q cell and Kalyon. The power plant will run for 30 years. The electricity produced by Hanwha Q cell can be sold at a fixed rate for the first 15 years. The Turkish government will buy electric power from the power plant for the remaining 15 years.
Hanwha Q cell will finish the construction of a factory in 21 months, and will build a 1GW power plant with modules to be produced at the factory in 36 months.
Turkey is not a stranger to Hanwha Q cell. The company already took the largest share in the Turkish solar market last year. Hanwha Q cell built an 18.3 megawatt solar power plant which is largest in Turkey. In the first stage, the company completed an 8.3 megawatt power plant at the end of 2015 and started to generate electricity. Another remaining 10 megawatt solar power plant was completed in the 3rd quarter of last year.
Meanwhile, Hanwha Q cell is steadily strengthening its market position in major global markets. In the United States, the company supplied upwards of 2GW last year. In Japan, its cumulative power supplies hit 2GW in February of last year.