Halil Demirdağ, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Smart Energy, which operates in the solar energy sector as a domestic panel manufacturer, GES investor and engineering service provider, drew attention to the importance of the growth of the sector for the country's economy. Demirdağ, stating that the sector increased its installed power to 4,700 MW in a short time, said, "Capacity increase is necessary for this success to continue, and investors should be supported for this."

Halil Demirdağ, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Smart Energy, one of the leading companies in the solar energy sector, made important evaluations about the solar energy sector before the International Energy Congress and Exhibition (EIF 2018), which will be held for the 11th time this year. Halil Demirdağ, who is also the President of GENSED (Solar Energy Industrialists and Industry Association), pointed out that the most important agenda of the sector at the moment is the lack of capacity. Demirdağ stated that Turkey has come a long way in solar energy in a very short time and that the way ahead is open, and made the following assessment: "Turkey has reached an installed power of 4,700 MW in solar energy thanks to its small, medium and large investors. The solar energy sector has achieved important things in a very short time, and this should be seen and appreciated. In order for this success to continue, investments must continue and investors must be supported. Solar energy should be paved the way for the interest of both companies and individual investors in the sector to continue and for new projects to be signed from small to large. In order for the investments to continue and for more GES to be established in our country, new capacities should be created and the producer should be supported." Demirdağ, who also touched on the issue of energy supply security, said: "In order to talk about security of supply, our resource must belong to ourselves, it must be national and local. We can achieve this with the sun. In solar energy, Turkey has now reached more than 50 percent locality rate on panel basis and more than 75 percent on GES basis. This rate of indigenousness is of course not enough. The more we can increase this rate, the more national and local we will become. The more secure our supply, the better." OBSTACLE TO FUEL IMPORTS WITH DOMESTIC PRODUCTION Demirdağ, who drew attention to the contributions of the sector to the country's economy from energy independence to the closing of the current account deficit, continued his words as follows: "As Smart Energy, thanks to the solar panels we produce in Turkey, we will prevent fuel imports that will produce 5 billion dollars of electricity in 10 years. Thus, we will do our part to close the current account deficit, which is the most important economic problem of our country. Moreover, the natural resources of our country will be protected. Demirdağ, emphasizing that their goal is to export "Made in Turkey" solar panels to many more points of the world, completed his statement as follows: "The solar energy sector will also open new markets and enable the creation of new employment opportunities. As Smart Energy, we continue our investments in this direction. We increased the capacity of our factory, which we started production in August 2017, from 420 MW to 800 MW. Our goal; to export our high-tech solar panels to MENA (Middle East and North Africa) countries as well as Europe and America and to increase the number of countries we operate to 20 in 2020. We will increase our contribution to the country's economy with our domestically produced solar panels for export." SMART ENERGY TO INTRODUCE 'HALF-CELL' AT EIF Smart Energy, which took its place as a silver sponsor at EIF 2018, which will bring the solar energy sector together in Ankara on November 8-9, will introduce its newest product Half-Cell solar panels here for the first time. Providing high efficiency with a performance guarantee of up to 25 years, Half-Cell panels show high performance even in poor light conditions. Thanks to its low temperature coefficient and fire protection, Half-Cell panels that are used safely maintain their durability for a long time. Half-Cell solar panels come with a 12-year product warranty. Halil Demirdağ, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Smart Energy, will share his evaluations about the sector in the session titled "Energy Markets in the World and Turkey" to be held on November 8 within the scope of the fair. Demirdağ will also lead the session titled "The Current Situation and Future of Turkey's Solar Energy Sector" on November 9 as the President of GENSED. At EIF 2018, which will take place at Ankara Congresium, Smart Energy will be exhibiting with its stands No. A-114 and A-105 in the exhibition area. ABOUT SMART ENERGY Smart Energy, which started its investments in the renewable energy sector in Southeast Europe in 2009, still serves in the Balkans and Turkey. In addition to its engineering services, Smart Energy also contributes to the development of the solar energy sector as an investor. Smart Energy's own GES (Solar Power Plant) investments exceeded 100 MW in total at home and abroad as of 2017. Smart Energy, which continues to grow in Turkey and Europe, produces in the solar panel factory that has been put into operation on an area of 23,500 square meters in Gebze Organized Industrial Zone (GOSB) Tembelova in partnership with the Chinese State company SUMEC.