Europe’s Largest Solar Farm Powers 2 Million People. But It’s Not Quite Europe

• The Kalyon Karapinar photovoltaic power plant covers 2,000 hectares of desert with 3.26 million solar panels.

• In addition to its monstrous size, it attracts attention with the impressive control building, which opened this year.

The largest photovoltaic installation in the European Union is located in Germany, it has more than a million solar panels and covers an area of ​​500 hectares. But it’s tiny compared to the largest solar farm in Europe: Kalion Karapinar.

More than three million solar panels. Kalyon Karapinar, with 3.26 million solar panels spread over 2,000 hectares, is four times the size of 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 power a city of 2 million people. It is only dwarfed by China’s giant power plants.

This is not quite Europe. Despite claiming to be the largest solar power plant in Europe, it is located in the Karapinar Desert in the Anatolia region of Turkey.

Its organizers, Kalyon Energy, are based in Istanbul and consider it a European plant, which is why it is often called the largest and most powerful photovoltaic plant in Europe.

It is worth noting that in 2023, Kalyon sold 50% of the project to the Emirati fund Abu Dhabi International Holding for a whopping $490 million.

The most beautiful government building in the world. If it can’t be considered European, at least let the impressive control center take the credit. It was designed by Turkish studio Bilgin Architects and opened in February 2024.

The building from which the entire plant is monitored and controlled rests on 86 friction piles, which ensure its stability in difficult desert terrain. Its structure occupies a square area in an orientation that does not cast shadows on the solar panels, one of the most important requirements of its design.

The roof has solar panels on four edges and a green area that overlooks 20 square kilometres of photovoltaic farm, equivalent to 2,800 football pitches filled with 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 management building was only completed this year.

Investors in this giant billion-dollar solar power plant include UK Export Finance, JPMorgan Chase and Garanti BBVA.

Thanks to the megaproject, two million people, whether European, Asian or transcontinental, will be able to use renewable energy in their homes.

Image | Bilgin Architects

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