The technical and economical feasibility study of offshore wind farms in Turkey

Abstract

A large part of the electricity generation is from imported fossil fuels, which makes Turkey heavily dependent on fossil fuels. For this reason, Turkey aims to increase the ratio of renewable energy resources in the total installed power. Among renewable resources, Turkey's wind energy potential is very high. Although the onshore wind power installed capacity has increased significantly in the last ten years in Turkey, offshore wind energy deployment has not gained satisfactory attention even though the country is surrounded by seas on three of its sides. Therefore, the installation of Turkey's first offshore wind farm, which will be established by the Turkish government was accelerated by opening a tender in 2018. Three potential candidate regions were identified, two located in the Aegean Sea and one in the Black Sea. This paper performs a comprehensive techno-economic analysis of offshore wind farm projects in identified three regions. It was calculated that the total offshore wind power capacity at the specified sites is 3,329.4 MW. In addition, offshore regions were compared in the scope of the methods used in the economic analysis. In this context, the best results an obtained in the Saros OWF region. This study aims to contribute scientifically to the region's offshore wind energy development. [GRAPHICS] .