Turkey turns to the sun

With the regulations published in 2019, Turkey is starting to benefit more from solar energy on rooftops. Mustafa Ahmet Beler, Deputy General Manager of HT Solar, one of the world's largest solar panel manufacturers, who evaluated the roof market in Turkey, said that in 2020, the demand will increase and the market will grow by making a big move as the factories to hypermarkets start to install solar panels on the roofs of commercial enterprises.

HT Solar Energy, which produces 800 MW of solar panels and 400 MW of solar cells annually at its factory in Tuzla, Istanbul, pointed out that the roof market in Turkey will take off in 2020. HT Solar Deputy General Manager Mustafa Ahmet Beler, who said that the demand increased even more with the regulations published in 2019, stated that the most important factor affecting the roof market was the issue of financing and emphasized that more progress would be taken in 2020 in this regard.

Turkey is among the top 10 in the PV sector

Underlining that with the new regulation, commercial enterprises in Turkey can install solar power plants on their roofs in response to increasing electricity bills, so especially rooftop projects will increase in 2020, Beler said, "Turkey is among the top 10 countries in the PV sector. The 3 largest markets in the world; China, Germany and the USA. Turkey's PV installed capacity is estimated to reach 10,562 MW in 2023. Turkey will have a greater share in this area, especially with the new regulation and the increase in awareness about benefiting from solar energy."

"We will also produce large cell solar panels"

Stating that as the only company exporting from Turkey to America, they realize a large part of their exports to the USA, Beler said that they export their products to many European countries, especially Belgium and the Netherlands, outside the USA, and said, "We have a sales target of 250 MW solar panels to respond to the increasing demand in Turkey. In 2019, we launched the Hot Spot Free Solar Panel at SPI Fair in the USA. In the middle of the year, we launched our Bifacial Half-Cut solar panel.This year, we will start the production of large-cell solar panels called Big-Cell."

Turkey's market potential is very high

Stating that 10 million dollars are allocated annually to R&D within HT-SAAE, Beler said, "We have an R&D team of 100 people. We collaborate with nearly 20 technology organizations. All panels sold in Europe by the AEG brand belonging to the Electrolux group are produced in our Istanbul factory."

HT SAAE, the parent company of HT Solar, is a Chinese State-owned company. Emphasizing that they have transferred China's know-how and know-how to benefit from solar energy to Turkey, Beler said, "As HT Solar, we believe that the market potential in Turkey is quite high. Turkey is one of the countries with the most potential in terms of benefiting from solar energy among European countries. Many countries, including the Gulf countries, where the sun is not lacking throughout the year, are increasing their investments in renewable energy in the name of clean energy and sustainability. With our established production power, we aim to contribute to Turkey's better use of its solar energy potential with this vision; we aim to help improve environmental pollution and therefore public health and reduce energy costs."