Effect of climate change to solar energy potential: a case study in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey

Architects, hydrologists, agriculturists, and solar engineers require the data of solar radiation for solar technologies such as solar drying, cooking, heating, and building illuminations. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of climate change on the potential of solar energy in the Eastern Anatolia Region (EAR) of Turkey. The global warming problem caused by greenhouse gases is increasing due to the increase in the use of fossil origin fuels in our world, and climate change is coming out. In this content, the values of monthly sunshine duration and global solar radiation are provided by the Meteorological Service in Turkish for the EAR of Turkey in the periods between 1987 and 2010. Thus, in a period of 24 years, it is investigated how much change took place in meteorological data. These changes are examined in the two different periods. In conclusion, it is observed that important changes occur in some meteorological data. The highest decrease in the variation amount of yearly average global solar radiation is seen in Erzurum, while the highest increase is seen in Erzincan. The highest increase in the variation amount of yearly average sunshine duration is seen in Erzincan, while the highest decrease is seen in Bitlis. In addition, the statistical analysis (t-test) is made to determine whether the difference between two periods is statistically significant for a considered region.