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Title: Process-based balance of system cost modeling for offshore wind power plants in the United States

Abstract

This paper describes the development of a process-based and open-source balance of system cost model that provides the capability to evaluate both existing and novel offshore wind technologies. Individual design and installation steps are represented with bottom-up engineering models that compute times and costs associated with the process; furthermore, operational constraints are assigned to each process so that delays caused by weather and presence of marine mammals may be accounted for in the overall project timeline. The model structure, assumptions, inputs, and results are vetted with industry partners and compared against actual projects for validation. Installation times show reasonable agreement with real data. Project cost sensitivities are investigated to compute the system-level impact of different design choices. First, individual vessel efficiencies are computed for varying numbers of installation vessels and weather time series to show the diminishing returns of more than two feeder barges. Then, array cable capital costs and installation times are determined for a representative project with different turbine sizes. These values quantify the cost-benefit tradeoffs and show a net-cost savings of decreasing numbers of turbines, increased turbine spacing, and fewer turbine terminations. These results demonstrate that the balance of system model features the accuracy, functionality, and accessibilitymore » to serve as the foundation for a wide range of analyses to identify cost reduction potentials for offshore wind energy in the United States.« less

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1];  [1]
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  1. National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Wind Energy Technologies Office
OSTI Identifier:
1659965
Report Number(s):
NREL/JA-5000-77190
Journal ID: ISSN 1742-6588; MainId:26136;UUID:2b727308-665e-4b80-8498-85ca1fecab7b;MainAdminID:13701
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC36-08GO28308
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Journal of Physics. Conference Series
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 1452; Journal ID: ISSN 1742-6588
Publisher:
IOP Publishing
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
17 WIND ENERGY; balance of system cost model; offshore wind technologies

Citation Formats

Shields, Matthew, and Nunemaker, Jacob. Process-based balance of system cost modeling for offshore wind power plants in the United States. United States: N. p., 2020. Web. doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1452/1/012039.
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Shields, Matthew, & Nunemaker, Jacob. Process-based balance of system cost modeling for offshore wind power plants in the United States. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1452/1/012039
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Shields, Matthew, and Nunemaker, Jacob. Wed . "Process-based balance of system cost modeling for offshore wind power plants in the United States". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1452/1/012039. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1659965.
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@article{osti_1659965,
title = {Process-based balance of system cost modeling for offshore wind power plants in the United States},
author = {Shields, Matthew and Nunemaker, Jacob},
abstractNote = {This paper describes the development of a process-based and open-source balance of system cost model that provides the capability to evaluate both existing and novel offshore wind technologies. Individual design and installation steps are represented with bottom-up engineering models that compute times and costs associated with the process; furthermore, operational constraints are assigned to each process so that delays caused by weather and presence of marine mammals may be accounted for in the overall project timeline. The model structure, assumptions, inputs, and results are vetted with industry partners and compared against actual projects for validation. Installation times show reasonable agreement with real data. Project cost sensitivities are investigated to compute the system-level impact of different design choices. First, individual vessel efficiencies are computed for varying numbers of installation vessels and weather time series to show the diminishing returns of more than two feeder barges. Then, array cable capital costs and installation times are determined for a representative project with different turbine sizes. These values quantify the cost-benefit tradeoffs and show a net-cost savings of decreasing numbers of turbines, increased turbine spacing, and fewer turbine terminations. These results demonstrate that the balance of system model features the accuracy, functionality, and accessibility to serve as the foundation for a wide range of analyses to identify cost reduction potentials for offshore wind energy in the United States.},
doi = {10.1088/1742-6596/1452/1/012039},
journal = {Journal of Physics. Conference Series},
number = ,
volume = 1452,
place = {United States},
year = {2020},
month = {3}
}
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Journal Article:
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Publisher's Version of Record
https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1452/1/012039
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Works referenced in this record:

Design of monopiles for offshore wind turbines in 10 steps
journal, January 2017

A lifecycle techno-economic model of offshore wind energy for different entry and exit instances
journal, July 2018

Parametric CAPEX, OPEX, and LCOE expressions for offshore wind farms based on global deployment parameters
journal, April 2018

  • Ioannou, Anastasia; Angus, Andrew; Brennan, Feargal
  • Energy Sources, Part B: Economics, Planning, and Policy, Vol. 13, Issue 5
  • DOI: 10.1080/15567249.2018.1461150

Offshore wind installation: Analysing the evidence behind improvements in installation time
journal, September 2018

  • Lacal-Arántegui, Roberto; Yusta, José M.; Domínguez-Navarro, José Antonio
  • Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 92
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2018.04.044

Levelised cost of energy for offshore floating wind turbines in a life cycle perspective
journal, June 2014

Offshore wind installation vessels – A comparative assessment for UK offshore rounds 1 and 2
journal, January 2018

Expert elicitation survey on future wind energy costs
journal, September 2016

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