THE WIND ENERGY POTENTIAL OF WESTERN GREECE

In this study wind data have been used to determine the monthly and annual variations of the wind at 13 meterological stations in west Greece. An analysis of the available wind data for the Ionian Sea islands and the western coasts of Greece is carried out to ascertain its potential for wind energy development. The effect of the limited number of daily observations available on the accuracy of the mean wind speed and annual wind energy estimates is ascertained. The wind speed and direction distributions are represented with Weibull functions. Besides, a mass-consistent numerical mesoscale model has been used to give an overview of the wind prospecting and sitting problem. and an example of its use for Corfu (Kerkira), an island in the Ionian Sea, is given. The comparison of the accuracy of the stimulation results versus measured wind at an available site is quite encouraging even though it cannot be conclusive since only one station is available.