CORONAVIRUS SHOWED TURKEY’S DOMESTIC PRODUCTIONS IMPORTANCE IN SOLAR SECTOR ONCE AGAIN

In the process that started with the deadly epidemic, concerns such as the impact of the solar industry supply chain and the increase in panel prices began to come to the fore. As China hosts many international panel manufacturers, the coronavirus seems to jeopardize the programmed world solar power plant capacity this year.

Currently, 90 percent of the raw material is produced in China. After the incidents, the importance of alternative producers like Turkey in the sector was felt in a very clear way. While many companies in Europe could not even provide their orders, they could not even learn when they could. This concern that started in Europe once again demonstrated how important an alternative we are.

On the other hand, the importance of having this case the raw material produced in Turkey, the transition to cell production and also revealed the importance of opening the front of the industry. Currently we do not have silicium production in Turkey, we are importing cells for panel production. Although the history of our industry is very new, our rate of localization is very high. On components used in the panels can produce 65 percent in Turkey.

This question has gained importance: "Can we produce the raw material of solar panels in Turkey?". This requires multi-billion dollar investments and large installations, but the establishment of this factories in Turkey are certainly possible. During this period, Turkey could emerge as a big manufacturer of solar energy alternative. Turkey's geographical position is also effective at this point.