Comparison of LCOE of the Southwest Offshore Wind Farm According to Types and Construction Methods of Supporting Structures

Abstract

In order to understand the economic feasibility of an offshore wind farm, this paper analyzed the differences in LCOE (levelized cost of energy) according to the support type and construction method of the substructure in terms of LCOE and sensitivity analysis was conducted according to the main components of LCOE. As for the site to be studied, the Southwest Offshore Wind Farm was selected, and the capital expenditures were calculated according to the size of the offshore wind farm and the installation unit. As a result of the sensitivity analysis, major components showed high sensitivity to availability, turbine related cost, weighted average cost of capital and balance of system related cost. Moreover, the post-piling jacket method, which was representatively applied to the substructure of the offshore wind farm in Korea, was selected as a basic plan to calculate the capital expenditures, and then the capital expenditures of the pre-piling jacket method and the tripod method were calculated and compared. As a result of analyzing the LCOE, it was confirmed that the pre-piling jacket method of the supporting structure lowers the LCOE and improves economic feasibility as the installation number of turbines increases.