The largest photovoltaic power plant in the European Union is located in Germany, with more than one million solar panels and covering an area of 500 hectares. But it is tiny compared to what is considered the largest solar farm in Europe: Kalyon Karapinar.
More than three million solar panels. With 3.26 million solar panels distributed over an area of 2,000 hectares, Kalyon Karapinar is four times larger than the German plant.
It has a monstrous peak capacity of 1,350 MW and generates two and a half million megawatt-hours of energy per year, enough to supply electricity to a city of 2 million inhabitants. It is only overshadowed by the gigantic power plants of China.
It’s not exactly in Europe. Despite the claim that it is the largest solar plant in Europe, it is located in the Karapinar Desert in Anatolia, the Asian region of Turkey.
Its promoters – Kalyon Energy – are based in Istanbul and consider it, however, a European plant, which is why it is often mentioned as the largest and most powerful photovoltaic plant in Europe.
It should be noted that in 2023, Kalyon sold 50% of the project to the Emirati fund Abu Dhabi International Holding for a whopping $490 million.
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The most beautiful control building in the world. If it cannot be considered European, at least let the most spectacular control center take the credit. It was designed by the Turkish studio Bilgin Architects and inaugurated in February 2024.
The building, from which the entire plant is monitored and controlled, rests on 86 friction piles that ensure its stability in the challenging desert terrain. Its structure occupies a square area in an orientation that does not cast shadows on the solar panels, one of the crucial requirements of its design.
The roof houses solar panels along its four edges, and has a green area from which the 20 square kilometers of photovoltaic farm can be seen, the equivalent of 2,800 football fields full of solar panels.
Built in four years. Construction of the Kalyon Karapinar solar park began in 2020. It has been connected to the grid since last year, but the control building was only completed this year.
Among the investors in this mammoth billion-dollar solar plant are UK Export Finance—the United Kingdom’s export credit agency—, JPMorgan Chase and Garanti BBVA.
Two million people, whether European, Asian or transcontinental, can enjoy renewable energy in their homes thanks to the megaproject.
Image | Bilgin Architects
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