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

Figures & data

Figure 1. Water depth vs. distance to shore vs. wind farm capacity.

Figure 2. Turbine rating vs. wind farm year of commissioning.

Figure 3. Breakdown of life-cycle costs.

Figure 4. Integrated cost model structure.

Table 1. Baseline specifications.

Characteristic values of the 3.6 MW wind turbine used for the baseline scenario
Total wind farm capacity,	504 MW
Nameplate capacity,	3.6 MW
Distance to port, D	36 km
Water depth, WD	26 m
Service life of the wind farm	25 years
Rotor diameter	107 m
Hub height	77.5 m
Pile diameter	6 m
Rated wind speed	13.5 m/s
Cut-in wind speed	4 m/s
Cut-out wind speed	25 m/s

Table 2. Results from the application of the model to a number of scenarios.

Scenario	(MW)	(m)	(km)	(MW)	(£)	(£)	LCOE (£/MWh)
Baseline	3.6	26	36	504	559,000,000	1,351,900,000	112.6
#1	1.8	26	36	504	709,750,000	1,512,500,000	135.2
#2	7	26	36	504	481,420,000	1,281,400,000	106.1
#3	5.3	26	36	504	510,370,000	1,274,100,000	110.3
#4	3.6	13	36	504	559,000,000	1,318,500,000	110.7
#5	3.6	52	36	504	559,000,000	1,418,800,000	116.6
#6	3.6	39	36	504	559,000,000	1,385,400,000	114.6
#7	3.6	26	18	504	557,590,000	1,303,500,000	107.6
#8	3.6	26	72	504	573,260,000	1,448,700,000	126.9
#9	3.6	26	54	504	559,390,000	1,400,300,000	115.0
#10	3.6	26	36	252	341,250,000	743,920,000	130.0
#11	3.6	26	36	1008	989,090,000	2,600,300,000	109.9
#12	3.6	26	36	756	771,040,000	1,970,300,000	111.2

Note: Bold numbers indicate which values change (in relation to the baseline case) at each scenario analysed.

Table 3. Testing scenarios and results produced by model and parametric expressions.

Testing scenarios		#t1	#t2	#t3	#t4
		6	3.6	3.6	3.6
WD		26	15.6	26	15.6
D		36	36	21.6	21.6
		504	504	504	302.4
(£)	Par. expression	4.872E+08	5.680E+08	5.680E+08	3.984E+08
	Cost model	5.036E+08	5.590E+08	5.569E+08	3.909E+08
	Error (%)	−3.3%	1.6%	2.0%	1.9%
(£)	Par. expression	1.269E+09	1.336E+09	1.324E+09	8.055E+08
	Cost model	1.293E+09	1.325E+09	1.313E+09	8.108E+08
	Error (%)	−1.8%	0.8%	0.8%	−0.7%
(£/MWh)	Par. expression	108.4	110.9	109.3	116.3
	Cost model	107.6	111.1	107.2	115.7
	Error (%)	0.8%	−0.2%	1.9%	0.5%

Note: Bold numbers indicate which values change (in relation to the baseline case) at each scenario analysed.

Figure 5. Sensitivity analysis of each parameter: (a) wind turbine rating, (b) distance from port, (c) water depth, and (d) wind farm capacity.