The Turut Ozal Medical Center of İnönü University, Malayta in Turkey has signed a contract for the construction of a 5MW solar power plant. It will be the largest solar installation in the country.
Renewable energy project engineer, Anel Telekom is taking on construction of the project , which will be completed in 2014.
Professor Cemil Çelik, a professor at the centre, said the solar power plant is an “investment in the university using its own resources” estimating Turkey spends approximately US$85 billion a year on importing oil and gas for energy. Çelik added using solar power to meet the needs of institutions like the medical school is “very meaningful” and “extremely important” to the university.
Roughly 80% of the project will be funded with a bank loan of TL19 million (US$9.4 million).
Dean of the centre Unsal Özgen said Turkey’s sunlight will help provide for the constant air conditioning and heating needs of the hospital, looking after more than a thousand in-house intensive care patients. “About 29 million kWh of energy was consumed in 2012, and we spent TL 8.28 million (US$4.15 million) for our energy needs,” Özgen said, adding that electricity price hikes of 10% will allow the hospital to save money by installing solar panels, estimating the plant will pay for itself in five to seven years with the savings on electricity costs.
