Wind energy assessments along the Black Sea basin

The main objective of the present work is to provide a more comprehensive picture of the wind patterns in the Black Sea basin. The analysis is based on 14 years of data (1999-2012) coming from both measurements and reanalysis model wind fields. A first perspective of the wind conditions in the coastal environment of the Black Sea is given by considering data from several offshore weather stations that operate in the western sector of the sea. The above analysis is completed using remotely sensed data as well as wind fields from two atmospheric models operated by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and the U.S. National Centres for Environmental Prediction. Beside a more complete image of the wind climate in the area targeted, the results show that in general a good agreement is encountered between the measured data and the numerical models as regards the overall spatial and seasonal evolutions of the wind conditions. The results indicate also that significant energetic wind conditions more often occur in the western part of the sea. These appear to be very similar with those from several offshore locations where wind farms already operate. Following this observation, and using the same data set, direct comparisons with four such locations from the Baltic Sea are also performed. The main conclusion of the work is that the coastal environment of the Black Sea, and especially that from its western side, is appropriate for wind energy extraction. Copyright (c) 2012 Royal Meteorological Society