Image: Carlos Delgado; CC-BY-SA
At the same time as looking back on the region’s monumental cultural heritage (the image above is the ‘Tetrapylon’ gate to the Temple of Aphrodite) modern day Turkey embraces the future.
South of the Madran mountain in Turkey’s Aegean region, near the town of Çine, a 12MW PV Solar Array is under construction. It is one of a number of sustainable energy projects being built and planned. Before the current site begins to produce electricity, during the long build phase, there is much work to do – and what better way to power the construction tools than with a smaller solar array?
The district of Aydin, where construction of this installation is underway, is traditionally a mining area – in addition to Marble used to build it’s monuments the area is well known for Quartz and Amethyst. And Percussionists will be familiar with Turkish Cymbals made from alloys of Copper and Tin. They, too, have a long history – crashing Cymbals were a strident announcement of the arrival of the Janissary military bands forming the Sultan’s guard during the the Ottoman Empire of the 14th Century.
Islam Varol who is Victron Energy’s Sales Manager for Turkey and Caspian – sends the attached photos of a 14kWp solar system he has installed connected to three MPPT Charge Controllers, and a 48V 1100Ah battery bank.
The solar array also makes a handy car-port!
Car Port
At the heart of the system is the Quattro. When there is insufficient sunlight to keep up with demands the Quattro automatically starts the generator; and also – when the generator is running and demand exceeds the power available from it, the Quattro provides extra power to cover that demand, with its ‘Power Assist’ function.
Quattro 48V/10000VA
BlueSolar MPPT 150V/85A (2x) and 150V/70A
220Ah AGM (20x)
BMV Battery Monitor
These functions, among others, of the new solar system provide many advantages over the Generator-alone provision it replaces:
Diesel use is dramatically reduced;
Fuel deliveries to a remote area are minimised;
The site generator has been significantly downsized and is now a much smaller unit;
The new system provides an uninterrupted power supply.
And best of all – the whole ethos of Turkey’s transitioning to clean energy is preserved by choosing renewable solutions at every stage.
The region’s juxtaposition of old and new adds interest to the traveler with a philosophic turn of mind …and whilst most of us wouldn’t have the room in our gardens for the 12MW array – we’d surely be able to squeeze-in one of those Tetrapylon gates?
Justin’s Books.
