###### Abstract  
With developing technology, energy consumption and requirements are steadily rising. Wind energy emerges as an indispensable energy source in the world, where energy requirements are increasing gradually due to important features such as being renewable, sustainable, easily accessible, and environmentally friendly. In recent years, wind energy investments in Turkey have increased significantly, in line with the rest of the world. In recent decades, a significant number of investors have performed investment studies in this area. In this study, the wind energy potential of the Balikesir Province in Turkey was calculated using geographical information system (GIS) functions. A wind speed map was created by using wind speed data measured at a 10 m altitude at 32 meteorological stations. The wind speeds were extrapolated to 100 m considering the land cover data, and a wind speed map of the Balikesir Province was created using GIS functions. An equation was produced to calculate the number of turbines that can be placed in a certain area depending on the national regulation, which is also the novelty of this study. By using this equation, the wind energy potential values of the Balikesir Province and its districts were obtained according to varying wind speed ranges  
Renewable energy sources are more advantageous than fossil energy sources due to their unlimited amount, less harm to the environment, and safety [4]. Solar and wind energy are the best known and fastest-growing renewable energy sources that will help to ensure sustainable development in the world [5]. Wind energy is the most developed and commercially available energy type among the renewable energy sources in the world. The People's Republic of China ranks first for the development of wind energy production in recent years. The United States, Germany, India, and Spain follow the People's Republic of China [6; 7; 8; 9]. The installed wind power capacities of countries and their places in the world rankings are given in Table 1 [8]. Considering the Republic of Turkey's eleventh development plan covering the 2019-2023 period, the share of renewable energy sources in electricity production for 2023 is estimated to be 38.8% [10]. According to Turkey Electricity Investments in the June 2022 Summary Report prepared by the General Directorate of Energy Affairs, 54.05% of the total installed capacity of 101,518 MW, as of 30 June 2022, consists of renewable energy production facilities [11]. Wind energy production in Turkey first began in 1998 in Izmir [12]. After the initial setup, the development of wind energy production in Turkey has progressed in a way consistent with its general development in the world. However, the production of wind energy investments in Turkey has significantly increased in recent years. The total installed capacity, which was 1375.80 MW in 2010, reached 11,101.82 MW as of January 2022. The highest growth in terms of the installed capacity during this period was 1797 MW between 2020 and 2021. This increase elevated Turkey's place in the world rankings significantly. The annual rate of increase, which was around 30% in the first years, decreased noticeably between 2016 and 2019, and declined by around 9% in 2019. After 2019, the annual rate of increase started to rise again and reached 19.31% at the end of 2021. In recent years, in order to increase the renewable energy production in Turkey, a number of incentives, such as tax exemptions, fixed price guarantees, and public land allocation, have been given by the government [13]. With the help of these incentives, wind energy investments, which are an important renewable energy source, have gained momentum. When cities are compared in terms of their total installed capacity, Izmir ranks first with 1886.70 MW, Balke-sir second with 1375.05 MW, Canakkale third with 917.35 MW, and Manisa fourth with 727.55 MW. The total installed capacity of these four cities constitute 44.3% of Turkey's installed capacity [14].