%0 Journal Article
%T The Current Situation of Wind Energy in Turkey
%A Ra£¿it Ata
%J Journal of Energy
%D 2013
%R 10.1155/2013/794095
%X Wind energy applications and turbine installations at different scales have increased since the beginning of this century. As wind energy is an alternative clean energy source compared to the fossil fuels that pollute the atmosphere, systems that convert wind energy to electricity have developed rapidly. Turkey¡¯s domestic fossil fuel resources are extremely limited. In addition, Turkey¡¯s geographical location has several advantages for extensive use of wind power. In this context, renewable energy resources appear to be one of the most efficient and effective solutions for sustainable energy development and environmental pollution prevention in Turkey. Among the renewable sources, Turkey has very high wind energy potential. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Turkey theoretically has 166£¿TWh a year of wind potential. However the installed wind power capacity is approximately 14% of total economical wind potential. In this study, Turkey¡¯s installed electric power capacity and electric energy production are investigated and also the current situation of wind energy in Turkey is examined. The wind data used in this study were taken from Turkish Wind Energy Association (TUREB) for the year 2012. This paper reviews the assessment of wind energy in Turkey as of the end of July 2012 including wind energy applications. 1. Introduction During recent years according to global environmental pollutions, trends towards the sustainable energy and green power sources such as solar, wind, biomass, and geothermal energy were largely increased. It is now widely accepted that the renewable energy sources are very important for the future of the countries. Wind energy is one of the economic renewable sources and a valuable supplement to conventional energy sources. The wind technology was gradually improved since the early 1970s. By the end of the 1990s, wind energy has re-emerged as one of the most important renewable energy resources [1]. The cost of wind electricity production cost has been gradually decreasing with improving technology. At present, wind energy has been widely used to produce electricity in many countries in America, Asia, and especially Europe. For instance, while the world established wind power is 24,322£¿MW in 2001, it has increased to 237,016£¿MW in the end of 2011 [2]. Our country, just as the majority of all world countries, faces some short and long term problems in energy procurement. Turkey should at first attempt to increase the amount of energy acquired from new and renewable energy sources to cover
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jen/2013/794095/