The effect of global climate change on renewable energy potential specific in solar energy and its relationship with land cover: Van case

The climate change caused by global warming has brought about many problems related to the environment and livelihood. Many projects have been developed in the international arena on global warming, which speeded up due to human factors and fossil fuels. Additionally, many solutions have been developed to prevent climate change and to adapt to the effects of climate change. Increasing the usage of renewable energy is one of these solutions. Renewable energy is not only a tool to prevent and adapt to climate change but also a fact directly affected by the climate parameters of climate change. The aim of this study is to research the possible effects of climate change on solar energy potential and its relationship with the land cover and multiple landscapes in the city of Van. In this study, solar energy will be analyzed by comparing four different approaches to mapping solar energy. Van Yüzüncü Yıl University Solar Power Plant's data on power generation is used to find which method of mapping is more accurate to predict solar energy potential in the province of Van. Another main data set for this research is the climate parameters of the city of Van provided by the Van Regional meteorological station. These climate parameters and NDVI data are analyzed with Mann Kendall Trend Test. As a result of the analyzed climate parameters, they are interpreted for the effects of climate change and solar energy potential. Additionally, CORINE land cover change maps have been discussed and compared with the solar energy potential approach for the province of Van, the solar energy potential of land cover classes have been presented and an assessment and propositions have been made accordingly. Keywords: Climate change, CORINE, Land cover Land usage (LCLU), Renewable energy, Solar energy, Van.