Canadian Solar Inc.(the "Company" or "Canadian Solar") (NASDAQ: CSIQ), one of the world's largest solar companies, provided its CS6P-P solar modules for the first project under the new Turkish solar energy legislation, YEK (Law on the utilization of renewable energy resources for the purpose of generating electricity), for solar power plants under 500 kW. The solar park has a capacity of 540 kW (450 kW on-grid and 90 kW off-grid), which marks a new milestone of solar power production in Turkey, making it the largest solar power plant in the country. This is the second project that Canadian Solar has realized in collaboration with the EPC contractor Gehrlicher Merk Solar in Turkey, following a 96 kW governmental PV project, which was finalized in September 2012.
The solar park at Izmir airport is the first photovoltaic project at an airport in the region. It is comprised of a ground-mounted installation of 450 kW and 90 kW of off-grid systems on several radar stations; which makes it the largest photovoltaic system currently installed in the country. It is also the first solar power plant to be erected under the newly introduced Turkish legislation to foster renewable energy plants under 500 kW. The regulation has encouraged a pipeline of projects totaling 40-50 MW so far, and emphasizes the interest of the government in the development of a renewable energy industry in Turkey and to increase the diversification of energy resources. One core advantages of the new legislation is the simplified official procedures where no licensing is required.
"The project in Izmir is a very significant achievement for us. Therefore, we relied again on the solar modules of Canadian Solar, as from past experience we could count on a trusted partnership and the high quality of the implemented products; characteristics which helped make this project a success for all parties involved," said Omer Cihan Karahan, CEO of Gehrlicher Merk Solar.
"We are proud to contribute our modules to this milestone project for the Turkish solar energy sector and for us as a company in this emerging renewable energy market. The new YEK will have a great impact on business development in this industry and we are delighted to be a part of that," said Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar. "With this project as a reference, we believe we will continue this success in other national and international airport projects in the future."
The solar park at Izmir airport is the second joint project of Canadian Solar and Gehrlicher Merk Solar in Turkey. With their first finalized solar power plant – a governmental rooftop installation of 96 kW for the municipality of Bursa – the solar company and the EPC contractor were nominated as the only solar project for the Best Renewable Energy Collaboration Award at this year's TIREC Awards in Turkey. Up until the completion of the 540 kW project in Izmir, the 96 kW photovoltaic system in Bursa had been the largest Turkish Governmental supported solar power plant.