Wind energy resource assessment of Ergan mountain ski center, Erzincan, Turkey

Ergan Mountain Ski Center is located in Erzincan, East Anatolian region of Turkey. It is 15 km south of the city and situated in the Mercan (Munzur) Mountain chain whose length is 200 km and width of between 15 and 45 km. Height of the Ergan is about 3,300 m. In this study, wind energy potential of Ergan Mountain Ski Center which is located in Erzincan, East Anatolian region of Turkey was investigated by analyzing wind speed data collected in ten minutes intervals by wind energy observation station situated at a height 2,350 m above sea level at 12 m above the ground. These measurements are performed from 2011 February to 2013 May. Wind energy potential of monitored area is determined by performing statistical analysis of collected data. Weibull distribution is used in the statistical analysis, and it is examined that the numerical values of shape and scale parameters for Ergan Mountain Ski Center varied over a wide range. The annual values of dimensionless Weibull shape parameter k ranged from 1.41 to 1.83 with a mean value of 1.71, while those of Weibull scale parameter c were in the range of 3.11–11.99 m/s with a yearly mean wind speed of 7.8 m/s. Results revealed that the highest and the lowest wind power potential is in March and October, respectively. Annual mean wind power density is obtained as 230.68 W/m2 inside the observatory field. The results show that the investigated location of Erzincan Ergan Mountain Ski Center has available wind energy potential and is feasible to establish wind power generation plant in a medium scale for installed power load of Erzincan Ergan Mountain Ski Center. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014.