A woman entrepreneur in Şenpazar district of Kastamonu produces electricity enough for a district with solar panels installed in the field with a grant provided by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
Aysel Bakır, who lives in Şenpazar district of Kastamonu, meets the daily electricity needs of the district with a population of 2 thousand, with solar power plant.
Leasing an idle field of 5 acres for 25 years, Mrs. Bakır has decided to produce solar energy here.
Stating that she had been working with her family in beekeeping sector in the district for many years, Aysel Bakır said that she received a grant from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Agriculture and Rural Development Support Institution (TKDK) and realized an investment of 1.6 million TL.
Underlining that they needed a solar energy system to protect their bees from wild animals, Bakır said that they were protecting their bees with several panels.
Mrs. Bakır explained that they decided to do business when they heard that there was a state support for doing business by taking support from Agriculture and Rural Development Support Institution and then they wanted to expand the business. "With the support of my husband, we decided to go ahead," she said.
Mentioning that they leased an idle field of 5 acres from Harmangeriş village, Mrs. Bakır said that, with solar panels installed in the field, they started to produce electricity enough for the daily needs of the residents of Şenpazar, which is adistrict with a population of 2,000.
"I wish all of our women to benefit from the support of our state gives to our women. This is something about courage. I hope all of our women will show the same courage," she said.
Aysel Bakır's husband Ahmet Bakır said that he supported his wife's idea of installing solar energy system, and he added: "Panels and inverter (power converter) cost 1.2 million TL. Agriculture and Rural Development Support Institution gave a grant support of 700,000 TL.
Noting that they bought the steel construction and transformer themselves, a total amount of 1,6 million TL was invested for this business. "We made such a good investment for our family and for our district. Thanks to our state for everything. I would also like to thank to Agriculture and Rural Development Support Institution and Ziraat Bank for their support," he said.
Harun Karaman, the nephew of Aysel Bakır, said that he started to work as the automation technician in the Plant and thanked her aunt for the job opportunity. He informed that the Plant could produce 300 kilowatt-hour energy. He added that they sold the electricity they produced to Başkent Elektrik Dağıtım A.Ş thanks to the state.