Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Turkey Goes Solar

Kyocera has announced that it has supplied solar modules that help to illuminate the Armenian Cathedral of the Holy Cross - located on the island of Akdamar, Turkey. This year church services were held there for the first time in 90 years. As an important cultural landmark, the church is illuminated in the evenings throughout the year.

The energy required for the illumination, which was previously supplied by diesel fuel, now comes from Kyocera solar modules. The modules were supplied by Kyocera Fineceramics GmbH and installed by the Turkish company Ezinc A.S.

The uninhabited island of Akdamar in Lake Van, the largest lake in Turkey, is the location of the Armenian Cathedral of the Holy Cross. In recent times this Christian house of worship was only used as a museum.

Now, with the permission of the Turkish government, a church service is again to take place there every year. Illumination outside of the church is now made possible from power generated by solar energy.

The Province of Van, which includes the island of Akdamar, records the third highest sunlight values in Turkey. In combination with the cool island climate, the location offers ideal conditions for the operation of a solar power generating system.

The installation consists of 145 modules that supply an average energy yield of 25,000 kilowatt-hours per year.

Before the installation of the solar plant, the power supply for the church came from a diesel generator, which even when operated for only three hours a day, incurred high costs of 25,000 euros per year.

As a result, the return period for the investment on this solar installation will be significantly shorter than typical cases.

SOURCE