Collaboration between CarrefourSA and İklimsa for Solar Power Plant

Sabancı Holding and Carrefour’s subsidiary CarrefourSA have established a rooftop Solar Power Plant (SPP) with a capacity of 620 kWp at the İstinye Hypermarket in collaboration with İklimsa, in line with their sustainability goals. This system will meet 45% of the store’s annual energy needs and prevent 374.8 tons of carbon emissions.

CarrefourSA continues to serve its customers with nearly 1,200 stores across 67 provinces and a workforce of 15,000, including its dealers. Adopting the philosophy of “The Right Way for Life,” the brand prioritizes sustainability and energy efficiency, and continues to invest in renewable energy decisively. With the rooftop SPP project implemented at the İstinye Hypermarket in collaboration with İklimsa, the brand is leading the energy transformation in the organized food retail sector.

CarrefourSA Executive Board Member Bulut Batum stated, “We continue to say ‘The Right Way for Life’ while keeping financial practices at the forefront to contribute to an eco-friendly future. We are continuously implementing projects aimed at increasing energy efficiency at all our locations. With these projects, we reduce our energy consumption while fulfilling our responsibility to the environment by sourcing the energy we need from renewable resources. Solar energy has great potential in terms of both efficiency and sustainability today. Considering the high energy requirements of the retail sector, we will continue our investments in solar energy.”

“The system will meet 45% of the store’s annual energy needs”
“According to the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources’ Solar Energy Potential Atlas of Turkey, the average annual sunshine duration in our country is 2,741 hours, and the annual total heating value is determined to be 1,527.46 kWh/square meter. These data show us how fortunate Turkey is in terms of solar energy,” said Batum. “With the project we implemented in collaboration with İklimsa, we focused on utilizing our existing renewable energy resources accurately. Our rooftop SPP project at İstinye Hypermarket has a capacity of 620 kWp and is designed to meet 45% of the store’s annual energy needs. The energy produced at this scale is equivalent to the annual energy needs of 187 households. At the same time, it will prevent 374.8 tons of carbon emissions. In our project, we used a total of 1,113 high-efficiency panels to achieve the ideal layout and maximized our energy efficiency using the latest technologies.”

“We will reduce our energy costs with SPP investments”
Batum stated that they will continue their investments in this area, saying, “The world is changing rapidly, and this change requires us to adopt an approach that is compatible with nature. Since 2020, we have opened 59 charging stations and provided service to over 20,000 vehicles, thus laying the foundations for an environmentally friendly transportation infrastructure. By turning our store parking lots into Eşarj points, we expand these investments; through the energy efficiency projects we implemented in 2023, we prevented 23,153 tons of CO2e emissions, 12,000 cubic meters of water consumption, and 40,000 MWh of electricity usage directly from our operations. The 40 million kWh energy savings we achieved in our 485 stores is a significant indicator of this process. We aim to achieve more than 60 million kWh of energy savings annually by implementing similar projects in all our stores. Currently, our annual energy consumption, which we use in all our business processes, is about 180 million kWh. This is a serious figure that needs to be saved. Therefore, by accelerating our solar energy investments by 2025, we will reduce our energy costs and increase the use of renewable energy,” he expressed.

“As İklimsa, we are committed to our common future.”
Tansu Öztorun, Executive Board Member of Teknosa and Deputy General Manager of İklimsa Business Unit, stated, “As a company, we are committed to our common future. As İklimsa, a leading brand with Teknosa’s dealer and service network, we are expanding our renewable energy solutions that will add value to the world with the vision of ‘The Sabancı of the New Generation.’ The interest of industrialists and businesses in solar energy investments is increasing day by day to reduce electricity consumption costs, not to be affected by potential energy price hikes, and thus to be more competitive both nationally and internationally. Initially, the payback periods for investments, which used to be 15 years, have now decreased to as little as 4 years. Considering the 25-year economic lifespan of the established SPPs, companies can use the energy they generate in their own facilities and residences for up to 21 years or even more, and they can also sell any excess production, creating income for themselves. With our network of over 500 authorized dealers and service providers in 71 provinces, we provide a wide range of services with corporate and individual solutions in Solar Energy Systems, from residential projects to rooftop and land applications of every capacity. With our organizational structure, end-to-end service offering, and ability to produce projects suitable for needs, we are committed to providing the most competitive service in the SPP sector without compromising on quality. After the installation of solar energy systems, we also meet our customers’ needs for monthly production reporting, maintenance and repair, periodic panel cleaning, and spare product services. With 40 years of experience in air conditioning, our company is confidently stepping towards becoming the most preferred brand in the renewable energy sector. In this context, the rooftop solar power plant established in collaboration with İklimsa at CarrefourSA’s İstinye Hypermarket is designed to meet 45% of the store’s energy needs. The clean energy obtained from the solar panels will be used in the daily operations of the store and will significantly reduce carbon emissions. We hope that this project, implemented in the organized food retail sector, will lead the way for renewable energy investments and inspire other brands and stores.”