The eco-friendly university produces its own energy.

Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey University (KMU), which contributes to Turkey’s annual electricity production by converting solar energy into electrical energy, has generated approximately 7 million lira in revenue by not only meeting its own needs but also selling excess energy.

The 1 MW solar power plant, constructed in two phases by the Department of Construction and Technical Affairs within the KMU Yunus Emre Campus, has been producing electricity since 2017. The total energy produced by the plant until July 2024 was measured to be approximately 11 GWh. The amount of energy sold as excess consumption, aside from the energy consumed on campus, was about 4 GWh. Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey University earned 6 million 855 thousand lira from this sale.

“Energy production equivalent to the consumption of 110 thousand homes”

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Selmin Ener Rüşen, Director of the Energy Efficiency Application and Research Center (KAREN) at KMU, stated, “We initiated such a project primarily to educate our students and meet our internal consumption needs with renewable energy sources, specifically the solar power plant. Since 2017, 11 GW of electrical energy has been produced. This production corresponds to the electricity consumption of approximately 110 thousand homes. Our university sold 4 GW of this energy and made a profit. This amount corresponds to the electricity consumption of 40 thousand homes. We have started our efforts for the further advancement of this project and the establishment of new solar power plants.”

“Generated approximately 7 million lira in revenue”

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Selmin Ener Rüşen expressed that selling the surplus energy produced contributes to the university, saying, “With this facility, we meet a very significant portion of our university’s internal consumption. Since this facility was established, selling the surplus energy has generated approximately 7 million lira in revenue for our university.”

“The project contributes to our country”

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Selmin Ener Rüşen emphasized that the eco-friendly energy contributes to Turkey, stating, “The use of the solar energy facility here as a renewable energy source contributes to both our environment, Karaman, and our country’s goal of zero carbon emissions by 2053. Currently, there are 4,230 solar panels in our facility. The necessary maintenance of these panels is carried out gradually. Research and development (R&D) studies are ongoing to ensure the efficient operation of the panels in the energy efficiency projects carried out by our university. We will continue such efforts to use energy more efficiently and obtain the energy we use from renewable energy sources. We believe that such projects that enable us to use energy more efficiently will be beneficial to our country, contribute to our country’s carbon neutrality goals, make the environment more livable, and reduce our country’s dependence on foreign energy. We aim to proliferate such projects.”