Turkey needs to invest around 18 billion liras (approx. $5.2 billion) to reach 5 gigawatts installed solar capacity, head of the energy group at the Turkish Academy of Sciences told Anadolu Agency on Wednesday.
The country currently has 850 megawatts unlicensed solar capacity and aims to increase its capacity to 5 gigawatts by 2023, Ibrahim Dincer said.
"The cost of installing a solar power plant per kilowatt-hours is calculated as around 4,350 Turkish liras," Dincer said.
Dincer pointed out that in addition to the technology infrastructure and investments in solar energy, there will be a need for human resources.
In the installation stage of a solar energy plant, 33 workers are needed per 1 megawatts and 10 workers are required for the same value in the production stage, he said.
According to that calculation, Turkey needs 180,000 people working on solar projects in order to reach its 5 gigawatts solar energy capacity target by 2023, said Dincer.
Dincer said that multifaceted studies are carried out as part of the country's 5 gigawatts target, but underlined the need to establish technological infrastructure to reach the target.
Dincer also emphasized the importance of qualified human resources to work in the sector.
Vocational and technical education is crucial, he underlined.
(Anadolu Agency)
