Wind Climate Analysis at the Future Wind Farm Positions in the Mediterranean Sea

The entire planet is moving toward renewable energy because of its lower environmental impact and to reduce air pollution, but also because of the rising price of conventional energy. Wind energy is one of the most advantageous methods of obtaining renewable energy because it is easy to exploit and does not require high construction and maintenance costs. Europe has great potential for offshore wind energy. However, when it comes to the Mediterranean Sea, there is still no wind farm in operation currently. Therefore, this chapter presents the future wind farms that are expected to operate in this area and a comparative wind climate analysis for the 2001–2020 period and the 2071–2100 period, using ERA5 data, the fifth generation European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts reanalysis for the global climate, and wind data projections under RCP4.5 scenario by a Regional Climate Model. The aim is to see how the wind climate may change in the future and how it will affect the energy produced by the wind farms deployed in the Mediterranean Sea area.