Optimal wind-hydro solution for the Marmara region of Turkey to meet electricity demand

• Published in: Energy (Oxford) Vol. 36; no. 2; pp. 864 - 872
• Main Authors: Dursun, Bahtiyar, Alboyaci, Bora, Gokcol, Cihan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01-02-2011; Elsevier
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Demand; Electricity; Energy; Energy of solution; Energy of waters: ocean thermal energy, wave and tidal energy, etc; Energy planning; Energy. Thermal use of fuels; Exact sciences and technology; Marketing; Mathematical models; Natural energy; Optimization; Pumped hydro storage; Transport and storage of energy; water power; Wind energy; Wind potential; wind power; Wind power generation; Wind speed; Turkey (country); Asia; Turkey; Energy planning; Pumped hydro storage; Wind potential; Demand; Energetic system; Wind velocity; Pumped storage; Optimal design; Case study; Hydraulic power; Optimal strategy; Wind energy; Electricity; Reliability of supply; Electric power production; Production unit
• ISSN: 0360-5442
• DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2010.12.028

Wind power technology is now a reliable electricity production system. It presents an economically attractive solution for the continuously increasing energy demand of the Marmara region located in Turkey. However, the stochastic behavior of wind speed in the Marmara region can lead to significant disharmony between wind energy production and electricity demand. Therefore, to overcome wind’s variable nature, a more reliable solution would be to integrate hydropower with wind energy. In this study, a methodology to estimate an optimal wind-hydro solution is developed and it is subsequently applied to six typical different site cases in the Marmara region in order to define the most beneficial configuration of the wind-hydro system. All numerical calculations are based on the long-term wind speed measurements, electrical load demand and operational characteristics of the system components.
► This study is the first application of a wind-hydro pumped storage system in Turkey. ► The methodology developed in this study is applied to the six sites in the Marmara region of Turkey. A wind – hydro pumped storage system is proposed to meet the electric energy demand of the Marmara region.