A flexibility-based approach for the design and management of floating offshore wind farms

Floating offshore wind farms have become a gateway to reach locations that are technically and economically infeasible to exploit using fixed platforms. However, the high capital investments and the uncertainty associated with the reliability, capacity factor, technology evolution, electricity demand, and regulatory frameworks negatively affect the cost of energy of this approach. Alternative strategies, such as designing for flexibility, have been shown to increase the value of engineering systems subject to highly uncertain environments. In this article, an analysis based on life-cycle costs and Monte-Carlo simulation is used to determine if floating wind farms with flexible installed capacity result in lower costs of energy than traditionally designed wind farms. Flexibility is introduced using an adaptable platform strategy and an over-dimensioned platform strategy. The results show that the adaptable platform strategy has the potential to reduce the cost of energy up to 18% by increasing the energy generation and the lifetime of some components of the wind farm. Nonetheless, the benefits of flexibility depend on new legislation that allows for lifetime extensions and proper flexibility management policies that utilize the potential built into the systems.