## 4 Results
### Potential Assessment  
Strengths: Long-term data collected from meteorological stations have generally been used to investigate the wind energy potential for an area. Given the limitations of measuring and installing marine buoys in offshore areas, much research needs to be conducted to identify the areas that are not considered. In this regard, satellite data are used in many aspects, for example, marine engineering, numerical model, oceanographic, wind speed and wave height [86]. In this area, many studies have already been conducted by various researchers on the estimation of marine wind energy on spatial scattering data greater than 12.5, 25 and 50 km resolutions [87; 88]. This wind maps can be improved either by one-kilometer grid resolution [89] from Sentinel 1 data. [PERSON] et al. [57] explained a new method for assessing, reporting, and mapping the wind energy potential of sea areas using Sentinel 1 imageries in the Sicilian island of the Mediterranean Sea. First, they identified the hot spots for wind turbine and wind farm installation in large marine areas and accordingly estimated the average wind potential in small areas around the islands. Sentinel 1 satellite images have been analyzed by using the SNAP software and then the wind parameters mapped in the GIS software. At the end of the SAR imagery analysis and mapping, the mean wind regime was extrapolated using the ROI tool and was used as an input data to train and test the proposed forecast model [68]. Figure 6 shows the mean wind speed (MWS) per (m/s) in two different cases (Sicilian and Sardinia islands) using ECMWF reanalysis dataset (between 1979 to 2019). Mediterranean Sea islands usually have higher average wind energy compared to the Mediterranean Sea region in the mainland (Figure 7). The case studies (Sicily, Sardinia) showed wind speeds are higher than the European continental shores. The main reason for this situation is the lower surface roughness (natural barriers) of the ocean surface compared to the ground land. According to various studies conducted in the Mediterranean Sea, the highest values of wind speed can be observed in the Aegean Sea, the Gulf of Lyon and the Alboran Sea with wind speeds of more than eight meters per second. In the Mediterranean Sea, some areas such as the Aegean Sea, the Strait of Gibraltar, the Gulf of Lyon and the area between Sicily and the coast of Tunisia also have wind speeds of about seven meters per second. The highest increase in wind speed in these areas is observed in spring and summer. This also causes seasonal fluctuations in these regions. Furthermore, during the winter, a significant reduction in wind energy potential is observed in the central parts of the Mediterranean Sea, as in the coasts of Libya and Egypt [46]. These areas, given their good potential, can be called hot spot areas that can be focused on installing power converters. Majority of the Mediterranean islands are characterized by a strong economy from tourism, and these hot spots areas were used to generate renewable energy for the self-sufficiency of the islands also during the seasons when the energy demand significantly increases. Opportunities: Since none of the wind farms were shut down to date, it can be treated as a new industry and also as a starting point, given its partnerships with the oil and gas industry [89]. One of the main benefits of OW energy are higher wind energy sources and potential electricity generation compared to land-based wind farms due to the higher wind speeds in the seas and oceans. It also has limited areas to explore given the greater scope for installing marine farms [90]. Sites with a short distance from the coastline are the most attractive location for wind farms installation, since  
Figure 6: Mean wind speed (MWS) per (m/s) with the 10 m height in two different cases and Mediterranean Sea using European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) reanalysis dataset (between 1979 to 2019). Figure 7: Seasonality wind speed (m/s) for case studies.