Abstract
In 2007, the EU established challenging goals for all Member States with the aim of obtaining 20% of their energy consumption from renewables, and offshore wind is expected to be among the renewable energy sources contributing highly towards achieving this target. Currently wind turbines are designed for a 25-year service life with the possibility of operational extension. Extending their efficient operation and increasing the overall electricity production will significantly increase the return on investment (ROI) and decrease the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE), considering that Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) will be distributed over a larger production output. The aim of this paper is to perform a detailed failure mode identification throughout the service life of offshore wind turbines and review the three most relevant end of life (EOL) scenarios: life extension, repowering and decommissioning. Life extension is considered the most desirable EOL scenario due to its profitability. It is believed that combining good inspection, operations and maintenance (O&M) strategies with the most up to date structural health monitoring and condition monitoring systems for detecting previously identified failure modes, will make life extension feasible. Nevertheless, for the cases where it is not feasible, other options such as repowering or decommissioning must be explored.
Highlights
The depletion of fossil fuels, their associated price oscillations and high contribution to climate change have forced the European Union to shift towards alternative forms of energy production [1].In 2007, the European Union set particular and challenging goals for all Member States [2] with the aim of achieving the common target of obtaining 20% of their energy consumption from renewable energy sources by 2020
It is believed that the identification of these failure modes and a good understanding of the feasibility of the proposed end of life (EOL) scenarios will enhance the efficient operation of wind turbines (WTs); by combining good inspection, operations and maintenance (O&M) strategies with the most up to date structural health monitoring and condition monitoring systems for detecting these failure modes, WTs’ health is supposed to be enhanced and assessed in order to become one of the technical considerations taken into account when the time of choosing the most suitable EOL arrives
WTs are designed for an assumed service life of 25 years with the possibility of operational extension
Summary
The depletion of fossil fuels, their associated price oscillations and high contribution to climate change have forced the European Union to shift towards alternative forms of energy production [1]. The aim of this paper is to perform failure mode identification throughout the service life of offshore wind turbines (OWTs), combined with a review of the three possible end of life (EOL). It is believed that the identification of these failure modes and a good understanding of the feasibility of the proposed EOL scenarios will enhance the efficient operation of wind turbines (WTs); by combining good inspection, O&M strategies with the most up to date structural health monitoring and condition monitoring systems for detecting these failure modes, WTs’ health is supposed to be enhanced and assessed in order to become one of the technical considerations taken into account when the time of choosing the most suitable EOL arrives. Being able to extend the service life or repower WTs will allow the sector to become more profitable and to get closer to the 2020 targets
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