Konya to Expand Solar Capacity with New 500-Megawatt SPP

Kalyon Karapınar Solar Power Plant (SPP), one of the largest solar power plants in Europe and among the biggest in the world, will expand with a new investment of 500 megawatts.

The existing facility currently holds a 1,000-megawatt license and a panel capacity of 1,350 megawatts. The new 500-megawatt expansion was awarded to Kalyon Enerji through the 2024 YEKA Solar Power Plant (GES) competitions organized by the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources. The project is expected to make a significant contribution to Turkey’s renewable energy capacity.

Most of the supply and planning processes for the new investment have already been completed. Mobilization at the site has begun, and construction of the transformer station is underway. Preparatory work is scheduled to be completed within this year, with full-scale construction set to start in 2026. Detailed planning has been finalized for all components, including electrical and mechanical systems as well as the energy transmission lines, with the aim of completing the construction within a year.

Once operational, the new facility will bring the total solar energy capacity in the Karapınar region to 1,850 megawatts, generating around 4 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. The two plants established by Kalyon Enerji in Karapınar will form the largest solar energy complex in the world carried out by a single investor, making it one of the few projects of its scale globally.

Nearly one million panels will be installed in the new project, bringing the total number of panels across the facilities to over four million. This expansion will further strengthen Karapınar SPP’s position as Europe’s largest and among the world’s most significant solar power plants. The project is expected to prevent the import of more than 800 million cubic meters of natural gas annually, contributing approximately 400 million dollars to the national economy.