IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/rensus/v160y2022ics1364032122001939.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Economic and sensitivity analysis on wind farm end-of-life strategies

Author

Listed:
  • Leite, Gustavo de Novaes Pires
  • Weschenfelder, Franciele
  • Farias, João Gabriel de
  • Kamal Ahmad, Muhammad

Abstract

Wind energy is a renewable energy source gaining significant attention lately, with the first wind farms nearing the end of their operational lives. With increasing installed capacity, a large number of wind farms will have to make critical end-of-life decisions in the coming years. Repowering and lifetime extension are two end-of-life strategies considered in this study. Technical and economic analyses were conducted for a wind farm in Brazil, a country with a prominent wind energy sector. A mathematical model was implemented to evaluate the economic benefits of each alternative, considering conditional and functional aspects, and was compared against a decommissioned wind farm, which represents the base case scenario. For the lifetime extension, three cases are considered: a light, medium, and substantial overhaul, which affects not only the generation but also the capital and operational expenditures of an overhauled wind turbine. A global sensitivity model is used to determine the most sensitive parameters affecting the economic results and to extend the cash flow analysis. The output reveals the economic viability of both strategies and their most critical variables, namely the energy tariff, capacity factor, and capital and operational expenditures. In addition, repowering exhibits improved feasibility in terms of economic indicators and undesirable results for the critical variables; therefore, lifetime extension becomes a low-risk alternative because of its highly stable effects, even though it has less number of positive economic indexes.

Suggested Citation

  • Leite, Gustavo de Novaes Pires & Weschenfelder, Franciele & Farias, João Gabriel de & Kamal Ahmad, Muhammad, 2022. "Economic and sensitivity analysis on wind farm end-of-life strategies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:160:y:2022:i:c:s1364032122001939
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2022.112273
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032122001939
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rser.2022.112273?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Diógenes, Jamil Ramsi Farkat & Claro, João & Rodrigues, José Coelho, 2019. "Barriers to onshore wind farm implementation in Brazil," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 253-266.
    2. Goyal, Mohit, 2010. "Repowering--Next big thing in India," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(5), pages 1400-1409, June.
    3. Martínez, E. & Latorre-Biel, J.I. & Jiménez, E. & Sanz, F. & Blanco, J., 2018. "Life cycle assessment of a wind farm repowering process," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 260-271.
    4. Bayer, Benjamin, 2018. "Experience with auctions for wind power in Brazil," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P2), pages 2644-2658.
    5. Szumilas-Kowalczyk, H. & Pevzner, N. & Giedych, R., 2020. "Long-term visual impacts of aging infrastructure: Challenges of decommissioning wind power infrastructure and a survey of alternative strategies," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 550-560.
    6. Topham, Eva & McMillan, David & Bradley, Stuart & Hart, Edward, 2019. "Recycling offshore wind farms at decommissioning stage," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 698-709.
    7. Syed, Abdul Haseeb & Javed, Adeel & Asim Feroz, Raja M. & Calhoun, Ronald, 2020. "Partial repowering analysis of a wind farm by turbine hub height variation to mitigate neighboring wind farm wake interference using mesoscale simulations," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 268(C).
    8. Antonini, Enrico G.A. & Romero, David A. & Amon, Cristina H., 2020. "Optimal design of wind farms in complex terrains using computational fluid dynamics and adjoint methods," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 261(C).
    9. Serri, Laura & Lembo, Ettore & Airoldi, Davide & Gelli, Camilla & Beccarello, Massimo, 2018. "Wind energy plants repowering potential in Italy: technical-economic assessment," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 382-390.
    10. Rubert, T. & McMillan, D. & Niewczas, P., 2018. "A decision support tool to assist with lifetime extension of wind turbines," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 423-433.
    11. Eising, Manuel & Hobbie, Hannes & Möst, Dominik, 2020. "Future wind and solar power market values in Germany — Evidence of spatial and technological dependencies?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    12. Hou, Peng & Enevoldsen, Peter & Hu, Weihao & Chen, Cong & Chen, Zhe, 2017. "Offshore wind farm repowering optimization," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 834-844.
    13. Clemens Fuchs & Joachim Kasten & Maxi Vent, 2020. "Current State and Future Prospective of Repowering Wind Turbines: An Economic Analysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-13, June.
    14. Topham, Eva & McMillan, David, 2017. "Sustainable decommissioning of an offshore wind farm," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 102(PB), pages 470-480.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ahmed, Faraedoon & Foley, Aoife & Dowds, Carole & Johnston, Barry & Al Kez, Dlzar, 2024. "Assessing the engineering, environmental and economic aspects of repowering onshore wind energy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 301(C).
    2. Susilowati, Yuliana & Hardiyasanti, Dindamilenia Choirunnisa & Widianingrum, Sinta & Endrasari, Fitri & Djamari, Djati Wibowo & Bahar, Aditiya Harjon & Wahono, Jaya & Veza, Ibham, 2023. "Carbon credit and economic feasibility analysis of biomass-solar PV-battery power plant for application in Indonesia remote area," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 219(P1).
    3. Liu, Fa & Sun, Fubao & Wang, Xunming, 2023. "Impact of turbine technology on wind energy potential and CO2 emission reduction under different wind resource conditions in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 348(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Isabel C. Gil-García & Ana Fernández-Guillamón & M. Socorro García-Cascales & Angel Molina-García, 2021. "A Multi-Factorial Review of Repowering Wind Generation Strategies," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-25, October.
    2. de Simón-Martín, Miguel & Ciria-Garcés, Tomás & Rosales-Asensio, Enrique & González-Martínez, Alberto, 2022. "Multi-dimensional barrier identification for wind farm repowering in Spain through an expert judgment approach," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    3. Doukas, H. & Arsenopoulos, A. & Lazoglou, M. & Nikas, A. & Flamos, A., 2022. "Wind repowering: Unveiling a hidden asset," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    4. Anne P. M. Velenturf, 2021. "A Framework and Baseline for the Integration of a Sustainable Circular Economy in Offshore Wind," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-41, September.
    5. Khan, Mehtab Ahmad & Javed, Adeel & Shakir, Sehar & Syed, Abdul Haseeb, 2021. "Optimization of a wind farm by coupled actuator disk and mesoscale models to mitigate neighboring wind farm wake interference from repowering perspective," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 298(C).
    6. Benjamin Pakenham & Anna Ermakova & Ali Mehmanparast, 2021. "A Review of Life Extension Strategies for Offshore Wind Farms Using Techno-Economic Assessments," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-23, March.
    7. Syed, Abdul Haseeb & Javed, Adeel & Asim Feroz, Raja M. & Calhoun, Ronald, 2020. "Partial repowering analysis of a wind farm by turbine hub height variation to mitigate neighboring wind farm wake interference using mesoscale simulations," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 268(C).
    8. de Bona, Jéssica Ceolin & Ferreira, Joao Carlos Espindola & Ordoñez Duran, Julian Fernando, 2021. "Analysis of scenarios for repowering wind farms in Brazil," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    9. Andrzej Jezierski & Cezary Mańkowski & Rafał Śpiewak, 2021. "Energy Savings Analysis in Logistics of a Wind Farm Repowering Process: A Case Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-23, September.
    10. Ahmed, Faraedoon & Foley, Aoife & Dowds, Carole & Johnston, Barry & Al Kez, Dlzar, 2024. "Assessing the engineering, environmental and economic aspects of repowering onshore wind energy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 301(C).
    11. João Agra Neto & Mario Orestes Aguirre González & Rajiv Lucas Pereira de Castro & David Cassimiro de Melo & Kezauyn Miranda Aiquoc & Andressa Medeiros Santiso & Rafael Monteiro de Vasconcelos & Lucas , 2024. "Factors Influencing the Decision-Making Process at the End-of-Life Cycle of Onshore Wind Farms: A Systematic Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(4), pages 1-42, February.
    12. Francisco Haces-Fernandez, 2020. "GoWInD: Wind Energy Spatiotemporal Assessment and Characterization of End-of-Life Activities," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-20, November.
    13. Winkler, Lorenz & Kilic, Onur A. & Veldman, Jasper, 2022. "Collaboration in the offshore wind farm decommissioning supply chain," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    14. Gao, Xiaoxia & Chen, Yao & Xu, Shinai & Gao, Wei & Zhu, Xiaoxun & Sun, Haiying & Yang, Hongxing & Han, Zhonghe & Wang, Yu & Lu, Hao, 2022. "Comparative experimental investigation into wake characteristics of turbines in three wind farms areas with varying terrain complexity from LiDAR measurements," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 307(C).
    15. R, Hall & E, Topham & E, João, 2022. "Environmental Impact Assessment for the decommissioning of offshore wind farms," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    16. Luis M. Abadie & Nestor Goicoechea, 2021. "Old Wind Farm Life Extension vs. Full Repowering: A Review of Economic Issues and a Stochastic Application for Spain," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-24, June.
    17. Li, Chen & Mogollón, José M. & Tukker, Arnold & Dong, Jianning & von Terzi, Dominic & Zhang, Chunbo & Steubing, Bernhard, 2022. "Future material requirements for global sustainable offshore wind energy development," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    18. Martínez, E. & Latorre-Biel, J.I. & Jiménez, E. & Sanz, F. & Blanco, J., 2018. "Life cycle assessment of a wind farm repowering process," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 260-271.
    19. Beauson, J. & Laurent, A. & Rudolph, D.P. & Pagh Jensen, J., 2022. "The complex end-of-life of wind turbine blades: A review of the European context," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    20. Szumilas-Kowalczyk, H. & Pevzner, N. & Giedych, R., 2020. "Long-term visual impacts of aging infrastructure: Challenges of decommissioning wind power infrastructure and a survey of alternative strategies," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 550-560.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:160:y:2022:i:c:s1364032122001939. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.