\

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

PERGAMON 1 "0887# 242Ð259

Mesoscale interactions on wind energy potential

in the northern Aegean region] a case study
Y[ Borhan
Istanbul Technical University\ Department of Meteorology\ Maslak 79515 Istanbul\ Turkey
Received 02 April 0887^ accepted 18 April 0887

Abstract

Aegean coast and surrounding areas are promising higher wind power potential[ In this
study the reasons of the higher wind power potential in the region of the northern Aegean
coast of Turkey and surrounding islands were discussed[ The channel e}ect\ route of cyclones
and surface pressure gradients were evaluated over the region[ Estimated results of the Weibull
parameters illustrate the higher wind power potential in the region[ Þ 0887 Elsevier Science
Ltd[ All rights reserved[

List of symbols
Pw wind energy density c scale parameter
V wind speed k shape parameter
Þ mean wind speed
V s standard deviation
r air density Þ
E mean energy

0[ Introduction

It is known that the wind is one of the most suitable and cost!e}ective alternative
energy sources[ Wind resource varies with time of day and season of year and even
to some extent from year to year[ It is also sensitive to variations with topography
and weather patterns[
The rapid growth of interest in wind energy has been created during the past 14
years[ In literature\ it is expected that the greatest wind potential exist in North
America\ Ukraine\ Australia and some parts of Europe[ Wind sources in Europe are

 Corresponding author[ Tel[] 9989 101 174 2230^ fax] 9989 101 174 2028^ e!mail] stopcuÝhidir[cc[i!
tu[edu[tr

0253Ð9210:87 , ! see front matter Þ 0887 Elsevier Science Ltd[ All rights reserved[
PII] S 0 2 5 3 Ð 9 2 1 0 " 8 7 # 9 9 9 9 5 Ð 8
243 Y[ Borhan:Renewable and Sustainable Ener`y Reviews 1 "0887# 242Ð259

explained in the European Community wind atlas[ Denmark\ the Netherlands\ the
north of Gibraltar\ South France\ United Kingdom\ Ireland\ Scotland\ and Greece
are promising regions ð0Ł[ Additionally\ with plenty of windy sites not only along the
coast but also in its mountain regions\ Spain has also been promising in Europe[ The
Spanish government had planned to increase the wind power capacity to 064 MW by
the year 1999 ð1Ł[
More than 04\999 wind turbines in U[S[A[ and 1799 in Denmark have been inte!
grated into existing utility system ð2Ł[ Recently\ the cost of wind!generated electricity
has also gradually decreased[ Consequently\ there is gradually interest for the wind
energy systems in the world[
Wind energy programs have been reviewed for the Mediterranean countries[ Recent
papers presented the picture of wind power potential along the coast of Greece and
the islands and western coast of Turkey ð3Ð5Ł[ Lalas et al[ ð4Ł\ evaluated the wind
energy potential for Aegean Sea and Greek islands in surrounding area[ Tolun et al[
ð6Ł presented the _rst results of the Gokcžeada island wind power potential[ Sžen ð7Ł
investigated the wind energy reliability by using Gokcžeada island station data[ þncecik
I
and Erdog³musž ð5Ł also investigated wind power potential on the western coast of
Anatolia[ In that work\ the stations in eight sites investigated the variability of wind
power on the western coast of Asia Minor[ Bozcaada\ Gokcžeada\ Bodrum\ C ž anakkale
and Ayval(k sites presented the higher potential[ They found maximum scale par!
ameters in the northern part of the region involving Gokcžeada\ Bozcaada islands and
Cž anakkale sites[ Bozcaada that is one of the islands of northern area of the coast has
been de_ned as the best suited for the application of wind energy among all the
stations[ This behavior has been attributed to the meso!scale circulation in the area
and local channeling e}ect between the islands and the mainland in the region[
This paper attempts to explain the reasons of the higher wind power potential at
the northern Aegean region[ With this purpose\ winter and summer weather patterns
and meso!scale circulations over the Eastern Mediterranean and Aegean Sea were
identi_ed[ Additionally\ surface pressure gradients that indicate the intensity of sur!
face wind speeds in the region were investigated[

1[ Observations and analysis

Figure 0 shows the western coast of Turkey and investigation region[ According to
Biel ð8Ł and Baum and Smith ð09Ł\ pressure distribution over the Mediterranean in
winter\ is controlled by three factors] the Eurasiatic high!pressure axis\ the subtropical
high and its extension over North Africa\ and the belt of low pressure over the
extremely warm Mediterranean sea itself[ In summer\ a high!pressure system covers
the eastern Mediterranean and Balkan area up to the Black Sea[ A thermal low over
the Anatolian Plateau is evident during day!hours because of heating of the dry land[
The balance between these two systems de_nes the weather conditions over the Aegean
Sea[ When the high!pressure system is strengthened it extends in an easterly direction
and the pressure gradient across the Aegean is weakened[ The synoptic circulation is
weak from the north[ Therefore\ local circulations as like as sea and land breezes
 Y[ Borhan:Renewable and Sustainable Ener`y Reviews 1 "0887# 242Ð259 244

Fig[ 0[ A map of Aegean coasts of Turkey "dashed lines indicate the region#[

develop over the region[ When the high!pressure system weakens\ the pressure gradi!
ent over the Aegean becomes stronger[ The northerly winds are dominant over the
Aegean in this period[ This kind of wind pattern is called Etesians ð8Ł[ Etesians control
the Adriatic\ Ionian and Aegean seas\ Greece and to a certain extent Asia Minor[ The
Etesians over the Adriatic and Ionian seas are northwest winds^ over the Aegean
and Greece north winds^ over Turkey northeast winds[ In summer the Etesians are
particularly pronounced on the western shore\ with strong northeast winds in the
Straight of Dardanelles "Cž anakkale#[
The pressure patterns described above represent average conditions[ Knowledge of
the most important storm tracks\ particularly those of winter\ when all the Med!
iterranean is controlled by eastbound disturbances\ is of great help in understanding
the distribution of prevailing winds in the region[ Alpert et al[ ð00Ł calculated and
analyzed monthly cyclone tracks in the Mediterranean[ Besides\ they made cli!
matological analysis of Mediterranean cyclones ð01Ł[ They showed the day!to!night
variation along with annual variation in the number of cyclones and they explained
at the eastern Mediterranean positive thermal e}ects that are much more pronounced
than at the western Mediterranean[ Alpert et al[ ð00Ł showed that there is a signi_cant
route of winter cyclones leaving through the Aegean Sea and passing over the studied
region towards the Black Sea[
Aegean region generally records north and northeast winds in both winter and
summer seasons[ Furthermore\ wind characteristics vary in the case of islands and
mainland composition[ This kind of e}ect is known channel e}ect[ There are many
examples on channel e}ects in the Mediterranean[ They are pronounced in channels
245 Y[ Borhan:Renewable and Sustainable Ener`y Reviews 1 "0887# 242Ð259

between islands or between islands and mainland[ Channel e}ect over the Dardanelles
that is the old name of C ž anakkale is well illustrated in the summer by historical
records[ Its velocities at 0 and 0[4 km over Gallipoli "Gelibolu# that is on the European
side of Cž anakkale are 2[5 m s−0 surface winds on the direction of NE and 5[1 m s−0
at over the boundary layer on the direction of NNE ð8Ł[ Figure 0 also illustrates the
position of estimated channel e}ect over straight of C ž anakkale[ As seen in Fig[ 0\
Bozcaada Island may be exposed to the channel e}ect over the straight of C ž anakkale[
In addition to the surface pressure pattern characteristics in synoptic scale\ it is
important to investigate the surface pressure gradients to obtain an indicator for wind
energy potential[ In this work\ surface pressure gradients involving the northern
Aegean region are classi_ed and interpreted[ A classi_cation of the strength of the
surface pressure gradients has been made with a similar method of Kallos et al[ ð02Ł
and Helmis et al[ ð03Ł by using mean sea level pressure maps ð04Ł for selected winter
and summer cases "Table 0#[
The hourly wind speed data of 0884Ð0885 selected winter and summer months were
analyzed for predicting the energy output in the region of Gokcžeada\ Bozcaada islands
and Cž anakkale site which are indicated in earlier studies ð5\ 6Ł as higher wind power
potential regions[ Table 1 presents the information of the period and the characteristics
of the data[
In literature\ wind energy density Pw\ is given by the time rate of change of wind
speed per unit area[

Pw  rV2:1 "0#
where V is the wind speed "m s−0# and r is the air density "kg m−2#[ Weibull distribution
has been used most often in atmospheric sciences to model variations in wind speeds
ð05Ł[ The form of the Weibull distribution is controlled by shape and scale parameters[
It is widely used in describing wind speed data and is expressed as two!parameter
function of the form]

P"V#  "k:c#"V:c#k−0 expð−"V:c#kŁ "1#

where c is a scale parameter "m s−0# and k a dimensionless shape parameter and k × 9\
c × 9[
The Weibull parameters can be estimated from the mean wind speed and G function
as follows Burington and May ð06Ł\ Justus et al[ ð07Ł\ Justus ð08Ł\ and Wilks ð05Ł]
Þ  cG"0¦0:k#
V
and

Þ  ðG"0¦1:k#:G1"0¦0:k#−0Ł9[4
s:V
In accordance with above statistics the mean energy assuming an average air density
of 0[12 kg m−2 is given as]

E  9[504V2
Þ
where
 Y[ Borhan:Renewable and Sustainable Ener`y Reviews 1 "0887# 242Ð259 246

Table 0
Classi_cation of the strength of the surface pressure gradients for the selected winter and summer periods
according to the observed pressure gradients in the area of northern Aegean Sea[ A*very weak pressure
gradients "1p:1n ³ 9[4 mb:099 km#^ B*relatively weak pressure gradients "9[4 mb:099 km ³ 1p:1n ³ 0[9
mb:099 km#^ C*relatively strong pressure gradients "0[9 mb:099 km ³ 1p:1n ³ 4[9 mb:099 km# and D*
strong pressure gradients "1p:1n × 4[9 mb:099 km#

Day Surface pressure gradients

July 84 August 84 December 84 January 85 July 85 August 85

0 A B C C A A
1 C A C C A A
2 C C C C A C
3 B B C C C C
4 A B C C B C
5 B B C C C C
6 B C C B C C
7 C C C A C B
8 C B C C B B
09 C C C A C C
00 C C C C C C
01 B C C B C C
02 B C B A C C
03 C C C C C C
04 B A A C C C
05 A B B C C A
06 C B C C C B
07 C B C C C B
08 C C C B C C
19 C C C A C B
10 C A A B C B
11 C A C B C A
12 C C A C C C
13 C C C A C B
14 C A C C B B
15 C C C A A A
16 C B C C C C
17 C A C A C C
18 C C A A C C
29 C C D B C C
20 C C C D A B

V2  c2G"0¦2:k#
and G is the gamma function[ The estimated results of the Weibull parameters and
mean energy at 29 m in the region for selected periods are given in Table 2[
The mean energy values are estimated at Bozcaada\ C ž anakkale and Gokcžeada
locations for 29 m that is considered hub height[ The calculations in Table 2 were
adjusted by using power law ð19Ł[ Power law exponent has been selected as 9[1 for
247 Y[ Borhan:Renewable and Sustainable Ener`y Reviews 1 "0887# 242Ð259

Table 1
Meteorological stations and the site information

Station Instrument Height of obs[ "m# Data

Bozcaada Three!cup anemometer 09[9 JulyÐAug[ Dec[ 0884ÐJan[ JulyÐ

Aug[ 0885
C
ž anakkale Three!cup anemometer 09[9 JulyÐAug[ Dec[ 0884ÐJan[ JulyÐ
Aug[ 0885
Gokcžeada Three!cup anemometer 6[34 JulyÐAug[ Dec[ 0884ÐJan[ July
0885

Table 2
The results of scale "m s−0# and shape "dimensionless# parameters\ EPF "dimensionless# and mean energy
"W m−1# values at 29 m in the region

Site Month Þ "m s−0#

V k c "m s−0# EPF E "W m−1#
Þ

Bozcaada July 0884 7[2 1[72 5[80 0[34 494[5

8  28> 37? N Aug[ 0884 6[2 1[15 4[61 0[55 283[0
l  15> 91? E Dec[ 0884 8[6 0[47 5[52 1[42 0309[8
Jan[ 0885 8[1 1[20 6[15 0[58 792[2
July 0885 6[5 1[39 5[93 0[46 310[2
Aug[ 0885 6[1 1[11 4[50 0[57 270[6

C
ž anakkale July 0884 4[3 1[24 3[15 0[54 047[6
8  39> 97? N Aug[ 0884 4[9 1[08 2[76 0[62 020[7
l  15> 13? E Dec[ 0884 6[1 0[32 3[55 2[92 578[5
Jan[ 0885 4[7 1[10 3[41 0[64 197[6
July 0885 4[7 1[28 3[50 0[46 075[8
Aug[ 0885 3[7 1[00 2[58 0[68 019[4

Gokcžeada July 0884 4[1 0[89 2[72 0[86 057[5

8  39> 00? N Aug[ 0884 3[5 0[72 2[23 1[91 019[1
l  14> 43? E Dec[ 0884 6[5 0[68 4[37 1[94 438[5
Jan[ 0885 7[3 0[74 5[03 1[97 640[8
July 0885 4[2 0[52 2[57 1[22 100[6

daytime and 9[4 night!time respectively[ Energy pattern factor "EPF# is de_ned V2:V
Þ2
ð08Ł[

2[ Results and concluding remarks

The conditions for wind power should be evaluated under characteristics of the
pressure gradients in the area[ Promising regions for wind power potential can be
selected by these considerations[ The pressure gradients are classi_ed as very weak\
 Y[ Borhan:Renewable and Sustainable Ener`y Reviews 1 "0887# 242Ð259 248

relatively weak\ relatively strong and strong based on the criteria stated in the caption
of Table 0[ Summarizing the _ndings\ the pressure gradients were very weak 08) of
the time\ relatively weak 02) of the time\ relatively strong 54) of the time and
strong 2) of the time during the winter months[ The corresponding values were very
weak 04)\ relatively weak 11) and relatively strong 52) during the summer months[
The results of the surface pressure gradient characteristics showed similar trends for
the winter and summer seasons in the region of interest[ Observed gradients in the
study area give mostly relatively strong values which vary between 0[9Ð4[9 mb per
099 km[ There are relatively strong surface gradients which occurred 54) of the time
during the winter period and 52) of the time during the summer period[
The shape parameter values k\ are greater than 1 as denoted in Table 2[ This is in
agreement with the results of Lyons ð10Ł\ þncecik
I and Erdog³musž ð5Ł[ The higher shape
parameters in the region in summer months can be explained by Etesians that are
strong northeast winds along Aegean coasts as explained above[ Lower shape par!
ameters in winter months indicate the wind characteristics in the region that is a}ected
by synoptic weather systems[
Energy pattern factor values vary between 0[34 and 2[92 depending on k[ Shape
parameter in the region in agreement with Justus|s ð08Ł results[ Justus ð08Ł indicate
that it generally ranges between about 0[4 and 2[9 and average of close to 1[9[
The mean wind energy values found in the range of 019[4 and 0309[8 W m−1 in the
region for 29 m hub height by using the two recent contrast seasons data[ The mean
energy values of Bozcaada that has maximum wind power potential for 29 m hub
height\ are 314[6 W m−1 in summer and 0098[0 W m−1 in winter respectively[ C ž anak!
kale site ranges between 038[4 W m−1 in summer and 338[1 W m−1 in winter^
Gokcžeada ranges between 055[8 W m−1 in summer and 546[6 W m−1 in winter
respectively[ Estimated parameters and mean energy values support the results of
Lalas et al[ ð4Ł and þncecik
I and Erdog³musž ð5Ł in accordance with the northern parts
of Aegean region[
Summarizing\ the Aegean coasts of Turkey and its northern parts involving two
islands are generally seen promising of higher wind speeds for wind power potential[
Several reasons may be attributed to the higher wind power potential in the region[
The relatively strong surface pressure gradients found in the northern Aegean coasts
of Turkey support the higher wind power potential in the region of Bozcaada\
Gokcžeada islands and C ž anakkale site[
Signi_cant route of winter cyclones passing over the region towards the Black Sea
and Etesians in summer and the channel e}ect over the straight of C ž anakkale are
other possible reasons[

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