Wind and wave power potential

Renewable energy is accepted as a key source for the future, not only for Turkey, but also for the world. This study investigates the potential for wind and wave power around the world and in Turkey, and provides an overview of the historical development of both energy resources. Turkey has a considerably high level of renewable energy resources that can be a part of the total energy network in the country. Wind energy has received a lot of attention lately in Turkey as one of the most promising and economically feasible technologies for clean power generation, while the number of studies conducted on wave energy is relatively lower. Based on the values obtained from the latest Turkey Wind Atlas in 2002, Turkey's total theoretically available potential for wind power is found to be about 88,000 MW/yr. Besides this, Turkey's wave power potential is estimated to be around 18,500 MW/yr, with an average wave energy capacity of 140 billion kWh annually. These figures indicate that Turkey has considerable potential for generating electricity from wind and wave power. To date, 3 wind power plants were installed with a total capacity of 18.9 MW, while there is not any wave energy plants installed in the country as of yet. Taking into account the present applications, it may be concluded that wind energy in Turkey is a promising alternative. As the public recognizes the projects, the progress will continue