Techno-Economic Assessment of Onshore Wind Power Plant Site Selection in Türkiye Through a Decision Support Model Based on Transmission Cost Scenarios

In recent years, renewable energy (RE) has become a significant topic both globally and in Türkiye. Renewable energy systems (RESs), in particular, appear to play a significant role in decreasing many of the risks the world faces, such as global warming and increased carbon emissions. This issue is currently on the agenda of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under the heading of SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy, and research in this area is increasing over time. In this study, a decision-support model was developed to evaluate suitable sites for wind power plant (WPP) investments. In addition to considering the plant installation cost and operation and maintenance (O&M) cost, the model incorporates different pricing scenarios for transmission costs. Break-even times (BETs) were calculated for representative cities across the seven regions of Türkiye, taking into account the revenues obtained from the sale of energy generated by the WPPs. In addition, net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), and sensitivity analyses were conducted to further evaluate the long-term economic feasibility and robustness of the candidate investment locations. The results revealed that the developed framework and the comparative economic analysis could serve as a guide from an innovative perspective for entrepreneurs planning to invest in this sector in Türkiye.