Turkey's Oyak Cimento opens country's largest solar plant

Oyak Cimento, one of Turkey's largest cement producers, commissioned Turkey's largest solar power plant on April 16 for self-consumption purposes, the company said in a statement to local media.

"We have commissioned a solar power plant (SPP) with an installed capacity of 97.8 MWe/115.5 MWp in the Beypazari district of Ankara, marking a first in the cement sector in terms of scale and scope," the company said.

The power plant, which is expected to produce 182,000 MWh/year of clean energy, will provide an environmental benefit equivalent to the annual carbon absorption of approximately 3.9 million trees, according to Oyak.

The project, which will also create a significant energy advantage in operational costs, is anticipated to raise the share of renewable energy in OYAK cement factories' total energy consumption to 25%, the company said.

Noting that the company continues to make progress in line with its sustainability goals, Suat Calbiyik, chairman of the board of CIMPOR Global-OYAK Cement, said, "In this context, our Beypazari project, which has been implemented, is one of the strongest indicators of OYAK Cement's unwavering commitment to sustainability, clean energy, and zero-emission targets."

With the responsibility of being the first company in our sector to commit to 'Net Zero,' we will continue to build the future with our low-carbon production and renewable energy investments, he added.

The company's waste heat recovery (WHR) projects at the Adana, Ankara, and Mardin plants, meanwhile, are targeted to be commissioned gradually during this year, the company said.

Oyak Cement operates in three countries and seven regions in Turkey with 24 million mt/year installed cement capacity and 12.6 million mt/year clinker capacity.

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed ordinary Portland cement (CEM I 42.5R) (bulk) at $54/mt CEMDEX Turkey on April 16, while cement clinker (OPC grey clinker) was assessed at $46.50/mt, both stable week over week.