Analysis of Life Extension Performance Metrics for Offshore Wind Assets

Abstract

Abstract The objective of the present study is to investigate systematically the key metrics to evaluate the life extension performance of offshore wind farm operations. Finding the appropriate performance metric for an operation is essential for a durable, reliable, and profitable offshore wind farm operation. The analyzed key performance metrics are gross profit margin, return on asset, compounded annual rate of return of initial investment and levelized cost of energy. The mean value and standard deviation of each performance metric are calculated within a probabilistic techno-economic assessment framework for a single offshore wind asset, which is later extended to evaluate the whole offshore wind farm by a multi-asset portfolio optimization. The Markowitz modern portfolio theory is applied to estimate the maximum risk-adjusted ratio and Sharpe ratio, for the key performance metrics. Subsequently, the key performance metrics are compared to identify the most suitable metrics at different stages of the life extension. Moreover, the present study investigates the effect of different uncertainty levels associated with the stochastic variables in the techno-economic assessment. Finally, the suitability of performance metrics is analyzed and discussed for different offshore wind farm sizes and related recommendations are given.