Sertavul was selected by GE, Inogen, and its regional partner Inogen to build one of Turkey’s first hybrid wind-solar projects. The 32 MW wind farm was commissioned in 2020 and will be integrated with a 30-MW solar plant. Solar power will be added to the wind farms to increase the capacity factor and availability. This will enable dispatchable renewable energy to be delivered into the grid. The sun shines during daylight hours and the wind blows strong at night.
“This project is another stepping-stone for the growth of hybrid power plants in Turkey,” says Prakash Chandra, Renewable Hybrids CEO at GE. “The project will help accelerate Turkey’s energy transition by optimizing scarce infrastructure and improving capacity factor of an existing plant, enabling intelligent dispatch of power and supporting our customer Sertavul to deliver more renewable energy.”
“We are proud to have implemented the first hybrid project in Turkey with the cooperation of Sertavul, GE and Inogen,” states Kemal TAŞ, Sertavul’s chairman of the board. “In recent years, investments in renewable energy sources for clean energy have increased worldwide. This project aims to contribute to the country by using renewable energie sources to increase energy efficiency, and reduce air pollution. We plan to increase our energy production with the support we receive from our partners.”
“We are very pleased to be a solution partner in one of the most important projects of our country and the world under the leadership of GE,” comments Ali Murat Soydan, CEO of Inogen. “We believe that there is a great hybrid potential in our country. Our most important characteristic is our ability to quickly implement projects with local production. We currently commission and construct more than 4 MW solar power plant per day under the GE framework. It is a great financial advantage to our partners that we work with in these projects.”
Inogen will be on site and will deliver the sun tracking systems to increase the power plant’s total energy production.
Seven FLEXINVERTER solar power converter units will be delivered by GE to the solar plant. This project is the first installation of GE’s 4.7 MW solar solution worldwide. GE already delivered 1.3 GW to Turkey of its FLEXINVERTER tech.
GE’s FLEXINVERTER is an integrated containerized solution that combines a solar inverter, medium voltage power transformer and an optional MV Ring Main Unit, all integrated in a standard 20-feet ISO high cube container. The technology is a smart solution. It allows for a reliable, efficient, and factory-integrated power conversion platform that can be used for utility scale solar and storage applications. It reduces capital and operation costs, and ensures a plant’s reliability.
The FLEXINVERTER is a key component of GE’s Renewable Hybrids FLEX portfolio that includes the FLEXRESERVOIR and the FLEXIQ technologies. FLEXRESERVOIR provides a battery energy storage system and power electronics solution that can be used in multiple market applications. FLEXIQ is a digital platform which provides design, operation, fleet management and grid compliance solutions to maximize lifetime customer value.