Mehmet Doğan, the general manager of the HSA Energy production facility, which was established in a closed area of 20 thousand square meters in Manisa Organized Industrial Zone and employs 450 people, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the solar panel production sector, which has a history of about 15 years, has developed rapidly especially in recent years. told.
Pointing out that the annual average of 1-1.5 gigawatts in Turkey, which is very convenient for solar power plant installation due to its geographical location and structure, increased to 3 gigawatts last year, Doğan said that this could increase to 6-7 gigawatts per year in the short term.
Pointing out that increasing investments have also developed the solar panel production sector, Doğan said:
“If we look at panel production facilities, we had an active production capacity of 6-7 gigawatts last year with 16-17 facilities as an industry. However, when we came this year, we had industrialists who set their heart on this business. Currently, we have 37 manufacturers and facilities that can produce 20 gigawatt panels in our country. “This is a serious figure. Compared to the world, there are 38 countries with panel facilities. 18 of them have a capacity of 1 gigawatt and above. Our country ranks 6th in the world and first in Europe in terms of production capacity. This shows that we are in a very good position.”
“It should be seen as a strategic sector”
Stating that especially industrialists show great interest in solar energy investments and that no one hesitates to make investments in energy, which is the most important input cost, Doğan said, “It was on the roofs before, but with the legislative change made last year, the investments landed on the fields. Manisa Organized Industrial Zone is also a region with valuable brands. Here, despite reaching over 30 megawatts in roof installations, it is still insufficient.” said.
Doğan stated that the panel manufacturers are trying to take an active role in the foreign market in order to compete with the world, as well as the domestic demand.
Stating that panel production should be considered as a strategic sector, Doğan said:
“We need to see this business as a defense industry and deepen our knowledge and experience. In other words, we need to establish cell facilities and create a raw material ecosystem in this region. Only then will we become competitive in exports. In this case, we will reach the US market, where we are competitive as of the end of 2023 and 2024, with a percentage of our production. “We have set a target to export 25 of them. However, this business will be more meaningful if we deepen in knowledge. We all believe, we will meet the domestic demand first, but we should all target exports. Our export target for next year is about 80-90 million dollars.”
https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/ekonomi/manisada-uretilen-gunes-panelleri-abd-pazarina-aciliyor/2878576