$1.4 BILLION INVESTMENT FROM KALYON SOLAR TECHNOLOGİES FACTORY FOR DOMESTIC AND RENEWABLE ENERGY

◆ Kalyon Solar Technologies Factory, the first and only fully integrated factory in the world gathering all the phases of solar panel production including R&D under one roof, went into operation.
◆ The opening ceremony was held with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The Minister of Treasury and Finance Berat Albayrak, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Fatih Dönmez, Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar, Minister of Environment and Urban Planning Murat Kurum, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Adil Karaismailoğlu, Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank, Family, Labor and Social Services Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk, Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Bekir Pakdemirli and Vice President Fuat Oktay, and also the leading figures of politics and business world were also present.
◆ To make a considerable contribution to the domestic and national energy move of Turkey with an investment of $400 million, the Kalyon Solar Technologies Factory will go into production for Konya Karapınar Solar Power Plant with an installed capacity of 1000 MW in the first phase. Through the investment worth $1.4 billion made to the factory and the power plant, a contribution will be made to the clean energy demand of Turkey.
◆ The factory will employ 1400 people in the first phase and have a yearly production capacity of 500 MW. After installation of the solar panels produced in the factory in Karapınar Solar Power Plant, the renewable energy to be produced in the power plant will increase the solar energy production of Turkey by 20 percent.
◆ When Karapınar Solar Power Plant goes into operation, 1.5 million tons of fossil fuel and carbon dioxide emissions will be prevented every year, and an import substitution worth $400 million will be accomplished through the added value obtained from the factory and the power plant.
◆ The factory also incorporates an R&D center established on an area of 2,500 square meters with an eye to localize not only energy but also technology. The R&D Center will employ 100 researchers and perform studies in cooperation with various universities, research centers and firms from Turkey and the whole world.
◆ The factory also carries out the manufacture of ingot from polysilicon ingot, one of the most important phases of solar panel production requiring high technology. With this characteristic, it is the first and only factory to produce Ingot, not only in Turkey, but also in Europe and the Middle East.

Kalyon Solar Technologies Factory, one of the biggest investments of Turkey aimed at producing domestic and national energy, went into production in Ankara. The opening ceremony was held with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The Minister of Treasury and Finance Berat Albayrak, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Fatih Dönmez, Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar, Minister of Environment and Urban Planning Murat Kurum, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Adil Karaismailoğlu, Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank, Family, Labor and Social Services Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk, Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Bekir Pakdemirli and Vice President Fuat Oktay, and also the leading figures of politics and business world were also present. During the ceremony hosted by Kalyon Holding Chairman Cemal Kalyoncu, the first assembly of the produced solar panels to the solar power plant in Karapınar, Konya was also carried out.

Established with an investment of $400 million, the factory will perform fully domestic solar panel production from A to Z. It will produce for Konya Karapınar Solar Power Plant in the first phase and produce panels with a capacity of 500 Megawatt each year. The factory gathers production of ingot, wafer, cell, and panel, 4 separate factories in the production of solar panels, under one roof, which makes it a first in the world. In addition to panel production, the factory will also serve as a center developing new technologies for solar energy.

Making a statement about their investment for the fully integrated factory, a first in the world, Kalyon Holding Chairman Cemal Kalyoncu said that Turkey reached a good point in energy and that their aim is to raise Turkey to a new level in this field with new investments. Kalyoncu emphasized that Turkey needs to produce not only energy but also information and technology with domestic resources to gain power in the energy competition and continued by saying: "There is a great transformation in energy throughout the world. Fossil fuels are polluting our planet. The way out is clean energy! All of us must make climate change and environment the main item of our agenda. For this reason, we must head towards clean energy resources. In line with this aim, we brought to life our Kalyon Solar Technologies Factory as an investment to strengthen and accelerate Turkey in the field of domestic, national, and clean energy. We are establishing the solar power plant with a capacity of 1000 megawatts, one of the biggest examples of its kind in the world, at Karapınar, Konya with a total investment of 1000 megawatts. All the panels to be used in this power plant will be produced in our factory."

Emphasizing that they gathered the 4 phases of processes in solar panel production under one roof, Cemal Kalyoncu said: "We managed to establish this factory that they said could not be established in 6 years in just one and a half year. We established our factory in an enclosed space of 100 thousand square-meters. We provided employment to 1400 people. Just producing solar panels and energy is not enough to be domestic and national. We also must produce information and technology. As of now, we started to produce solar panels with a yearly capacity of 500 megawatts in our established factory. Due to high demand from abroad, we will increase our production capacity to 1000 megawatts this year. Our aim is to increase the export of our country."

Kalyoncu stated the following about the R&D investment: "Our factory, providing employment to 1,400 people, will also be a center producing technology. 100 researchers will work in the R&D center on an area of 2,500 square-meters. We will cooperate with various universities, R&D centers, and firms around the world with experience in this field, and conduct studies in increasing the efficiency of cell modules, smart factory applications and developing battery technologies. Hasan Kalyoncu University and METU Solar Research Center will also be important stakeholders of these studies. This center will also develop different technologies. It will increase the efficiency of cells and modules. It will carry out smart factory studies and work towards development of battery technologies.

Also giving information on the Solar Power Plant in Karapınar, Konya, Cemal Kalyoncu said: "We are establishing a 1,000-megawatt solar power plant on an area equal to 2,600 football fields using 3.5 million panels with an investment of $1 billion. This power plant will singly meet the yearly energy requirement of 2 million people. It will produce odorless, smokeless, waste-free, and renewable energy. In this way, we will increase the share of solar power in our country by 20 percent. Moreover, we will also prevent 1.5 million tons of fossil fuel and carbon dioxide emissions every year. Thanks to our factory and power plant, we will pay $400 million less to overseas every year. With the size of this power plant, we will be one of the biggest in the world. Concerning the future and prosperity of our country directly, this investment will be an accomplishment that not only us but also our whole nation will take pride in."

While carrying out all the phases of solar panel production, Kalyon Solar Technologies Factory will also carry out ingot production, one of the most important phases of production, becoming the first and only factory to do this throughout Europe and the Middle East. Ingot production, one of the four phases of solar panel production, requires superior technology and know-how. The polysilicon in the form of raw material is melted at around 1450°C, taking the shape of mono-crystal silicon ingot. The ingots produced are sliced at a thickness of 180 micrometers with the help of wire saws covered with diamond working at a speed of 15 meters per second. After being subjected to more than 30 chemical and physical semi-conductor production processes, the slices become photovoltaic solar cells.