Hanwha begins solar factory project in Turkey

Hanwha Q Cells broke ground on a solar panel production facility in Ankara, Turkey, on Friday.

The company won a bid from Turkey’s Ministry of Energy and National Resources in March to build a factory for solar ingots, wafers, cells and modules.

The goal is to later construct a 1-gigawatt solar plant using materials from the factory. When the power plant is complete, the Turkish government will purchase power from the plant for 30 years, according to the agreement signed with Hanwha Q Cells.

For the first 15 years, the energy price will be fixed at $0.0699 per kilowatt-hour. For the rest of the contracted period, power will be sold at market price.

According to Hanwha Q Cells, the 1-gigawatt solar energy plant will be the largest in Turkey.

Hanwha Q Cells is working with Turkish Kalyon, a construction conglomerate. The two companies set up a 50:50 joint venture for the project in September.

The solar cell factory is scheduled to begin commercial operation in the first quarter of 2019.

About 700 officials including Prime Minister Binali Yildirim of Turkey and Berat Albayrak, minister of energy and natural resources, attended the ground-breaking ceremony on Friday.

BY KIM JEE-HEE [kim.jeehee@joongang.co.kr]