Investigation of the wave energy potential in Black Sea by means of satellite data

In this study, the sources renewable and clean energy sources were discussed. Due to these energy sources are accepted as clean energy, they have limited negative effects on environment. Wave energy is comparatively new but requires expensive technique to operate, contrary to other countries there is no production activity on wave energy in Turkey. Although in the studies related to determine the wave energy potential required before the production activity, in general, these process are carried out by using models rather than in situ measurements of the wave height, which is the basic parameter of the wave energy. The main reason for this is that the wave size measurement due to sea conditions can be very costly and technically difficult. Additionally, these equipment is not produced in Turkey and are provided from other countries. In this study, the possibility of using satellite imageries to obtained wave height is considered. In order to determine the accuracy of satellite data, wave meters and satellites receiving data from the same region were taken was compared. Satellite data is downloaded from aviso+ web site for comparison. Due to the lack of satellite data formats, the conversion process has been performed so that the downloaded data will be read in Excel format. In order to determine the results, wave energy conversion systems and the wave power values of the seas in the region of these systems have been investigated. With this comparison, the wave power potential of the Black Sea and the wave energy that can be provided for Istanbul was determined. With all these evaluations and investigations, it has been concluded that wave energy could be an important energy source for Turkey in the near future. Although the amount of wave energy is relatively small compared to fossil fuels, there is a source of energy that can be used in wave power in the Turkish seas.