Life cycle cost analysis of a floating wind farm in the Norwegian Sea

Abstract

The offshore wind energy industry has witnessed rapid growth in the past decade. Still, there is a lack of commercial floating wind projects due to the relatively high development costs and other factors. To facilitate the holistic evaluation of floating wind farms in Norway, this article investigates the levelized cost of energy of a floating offshore wind farm and its economic feasibility. The Troll field west of Bergen, Norway, is assumed to be the target offshore site, and a farm size of 50 wind turbines with a lifespan of 25 years are considered. Each floating wind turbine has a 15-megawatt turbine mounted on a semi-submersible floater. Based on detailed analysis, the levelized cost of energy of the wind farm is estimated to be approximately 100.7 $/MWh. The capital expenditure is the most prominent cost and constitutes 63.1% of the total cost, and the operational expenditure constitutes the remaining 36.9%. Further, sensitivity analyses show the influence of the lifespan, capacity factor, and project discount rate on the levelized cost of energy. The present study contributes to techno-economic evaluation of floating wind projects at an early phase.