Finance For Turkey’s Largest Solar Facility

• UKEF has announced £217 million Buyer Credit Facility for Turkey's 1.35 GW solar power plant
• Project is expected to come online in 2022 when it will serve 2 million denizens
• Some part of the solar technology integration and power station assembly will take place in the UK, hence it will support over 100 UK jobs
• GE Energy worked with the UKEF to get the facility approved for the project that's to use company's Flexinverter technology

The export credit agency of the UK government, the UK Export Finance (UKEF) has committed its largest-ever guarantee for a solar project with £217 million ($291 million) to support Turkey's largest solar facility, the 1.35 GW Karapinar Solar Project.

The 1.35 GW Karapniar Solar Project is being executed by Kalyon Enerji and is scheduled to come online by the end of 2022. Once commercial operations are in full swing, the facility is expected to increase Turkey's total solar energy share in its power mix by 20% to cater to 2 million people.

The Karapinar Solar Project is to deploy modules made in Turkey by Kalyon Holding in a 500 MW integrated monocrystalline ingot-wafer-cells-module fab that came online in August 2020 (see 500 MW Wafer-To-Panel Fab Opens in Turkey).

The UK's interest in the project comes from the fact that the integration of the solar technology and assembly of the power station will take place in the UK, hence it will support more than 100 jobs for the British.

"UKEF's financing encourages other countries to invest in renewable energy and opens new markets for UK businesses that will power a recovery underpinned by green jobs," said International Trade Secretary and UK International Champion on Adaptation and Resilience for the COP26 Presidency, Anne-Marie Trevelyan.

GE Energy Financial Services' worked with the UKEF to get the £217 million Buyer Credit Facility approved. The company is deploying its Flexinverter solar technology outside the US market for the 1^st time, through the Karapinar facility.

The deal for the UKEF is part of the government's commitment at COP26 to eliminate climate harm from global finance and take action to support global energy transition, it added.

In January 2020, UKEF shelled out €54.8 million for Solarcentury's 500 MW solar power capacity in Spain (see Solarcentury Raises Finance For 500 MW Spanish Solar).