Turkey’s Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources conducted an auction for contracts for solar power as part of its Renewable Energy Resources Area (YEKA) scheme. The winners are getting power purchase agreements for three future photovoltaic units of 100 MW each in the Bor district of Niğde province in the southern part of the region of Central Anatolia.

It was the first competitive bidding within the YEKA GES-4 round for solar power.

Smart GES Enerji placed the lowest bid among 18 companies in total for the Bor-1 lot – 2.33 eurocents per kilowatt-hour at the current exchange rate, translating to EUR 23.3 per MWh. Parent company Smart Güneş Teknolojileri said it would build a solar power plant with a peak capacity of 140 MW. It is the total capacity expressed in direct current (DC) terms. Actual power delivered to the alternating power (AC) grid is usually 20% or so lower.

Auction winners can opt for open market sales of their electricity

According to the government’s terms, the winners will also be able to sell electricity in the open market regardless of the agreed fixed price, which is guaranteed for the first 23 GWh per MW in output. It may take longer than a decade to fulfill the quota.

The original ceiling price for the long-planned auction, EUR 25 per MWh, was recently increased to EUR 59.4 per MWh (TRY 950), as the Turkish lira lost 40% of its value in the past year.

The selected bidders will have three and a half years to build their solar power plants in the Bor district

There is also a 60% foreign exchange weight clause for the developers’ price bids. The provision partly protects them from currency volatility.

The investors had to provide a letter of credit with the application for EUR 31,300 per MWh. The winners are obligated to submit guarantees of EUR 87,600 per MWh to be able to sign the contract.

The selected investors have 22 months to obtain all necessary licenses. The original period was set to 24 months. In the latest changes, the initial deadline for the construction of the facility was halved to 18 months.

Ecogreen, Kalyon win two remaining lots at solar power auction

Ecogreen Elektrik Enerji, based in Denizli, won the auction for Bor-2 100 MW by bidding EUR 24.3 per MWh. Eighteen companies in total competed for the 100 MW lot.

The remaining capacities within YEKA GES-4 are in the districts of Erzin and Viranşehir

There were 13 participants for the Bor-3 segment. Kalyon Enerji Yatırımları was the best bidder with EUR 26.7 MWh. Its holding company is building the 1 GW Karapınar solar power plant, which it won at the YEKA-1 GES auction in 2017.

There are two lots left in YEKA GES-4 for solar power plants of 100 MW each in the Erzin district of Hatay, Turkey’s southernmost province, and another 500 MW divided into ten equal lots for the Viranşehir district in Şanlıurfa in the country’s southeast.