NuRER 2012 – III. International Conference on Nuclear & Renewable Energy Resources İstanbul, TURKEY, 20-23 May 2012 EVALUATION OF WIND POWER POTENTIAL AND ECONOMIC ANALYSIS FOR ÇATALCA IN MARMARA REGION Tufan Giroğlu 1 , Ali Durusu 1 , Ali Erduman 1 , Recep Yumurtacı 1 , Muğdeşem Tanrıöven 1 1 Yıldız Technical University Abstract In this study, wind energy potential of Çatalca in Marmara region is analyzed by using hourly average wind speed data which has measured 10 m height from ground level in 2010. The wind speed distribution is modeled by using Weibull distribution. Weibull parameters, shape and scale parameters, are calculated by using two different methods which are graphical method and approximated method. After the calculation of Weibull parameters three wind turbines are selected from different manufacturers. Capacity factor of turbines are determined and also economic analysis is added to this study for choosing the most economical and efficient wind turbine. Keywords: Wind Energy Potential, Weibull Parameters, Çatalca, Economic Analysis 1. Introduction As a result of an emerging technology and population growth, world electricity consumption is increasing rapidly. World energy production for 2010 was 21248 TWh and %68.1 of this production has been made by conventional thermal (Gas, Oil, Coal) sources. Renewable energy sources (incl. Hydro) had %19.5 of this production. In Turkey energy production for 2010 was 211 TWh and %73 of this production has been made by conventional thermal (Gas, Oil, Coal) sources. Renewable energy sources (incl. Hydro) had %26.2 of this energy production [1]. What is more, fossil fuels contain carbon and hydrogen that has been fixated by ancient plants. However, near the end of the seventies it seemed that natural resources would soon be exhausted. At that time countries all over the world started to work on clean energy as producing electricity by renewable energy sources [2]. Sun, wind and water are available at almost all places and they are almost inexhaustible. Today, clean, domestic and renewable energy is commonly accepted as the key for future life, not only for Turkey but also for the world. As wind energy is an alternative clean energy source compared to the fossil fuels that pollute the atmosphere, renewable energy resources appear to be one of the most efficient and effective solutions for sustainable energy development and environmental pollution prevention in Turkey. On the other hand, investments in wind energy sector are increasing [3]. During 2010, 528 MW of wind power was installed across Turkey and total wind energy production increased to 1329.15 MW. Also in 2011, 476.7 MW of wind power was installed and total wind energy production increased to 1805.85 MW [4]. Till the end of 2012 517.55 MW of wind power will be installed and total wind energy production will be increased to 2323.4 MW. Above all, licensed wind power plants energy production capacity is 5444 MW [4] and thus, it is clear that total energy production from wind energy for Turkey will reach higher numbers soon. So as a result of increase at investments in wind energy sector, energy production from wind energy will have an important percentage of total energy production in Turkey. In this study, wind energy potential of Çatalca in Marmara Region is analyzed by Weibull distribution with making use of hourly average wind speed data [5]. Also economic analysis of three selected wind turbine from different manufacturers is added to this study. 2. Materials and Methods The wind data were taken from Turkish State Meteorological Service, Catalca Synoptic Station. Çatalca is located at east of İstanbul in Marmara Province, Turkey. Figure 1 shows the location of Çatalca Synoptic Station. The sampling period was 60 min and the altitude of the measurement point was 10 meters above the ground in 2010. A program was written in Matlab to determine the frequency of each speed in every month. Table 1 shows the frequency of wind speeds for height of 50 m for 2010 determined from the program. In order to process the data, mathematical model Weibull probability distribution function has been used. E-mail of Corresponding Author: adurusu@yildiz.edu.tr