Challenges of decommissioning offshore wind farms: Overview of the European experience

Topham, Eva; Gonzalez, Elena; McMillan, David; João, Elsa

doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1222/1/012035

Cited by 35 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…The most practical method of waste management for blades is energy recovery through incineration. Some non-recyclable wastes include lubricants and coolants, power electronics and composite materials (Januário et al 2007;Cherrington et al 2012;Topham et al 2019). The waste management methods for different wind turbine components are presented in Table 3.…”

Section: Waste Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

An economic assessment framework for decommissioning of offshore wind farms using a cost breakdown structure

Adedipe

Shafiee

2021

Int J Life Cycle Assess

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Purpose As wind power generation increases globally, there will be a substantial number of wind turbines that need to be decommissioned in the coming years. It is crucial for wind farm developers to design safe and cost-effective decommissioning plans and procedures for assets before they reach the end of their useful life. Adequate financial provisions for decommissioning operations are essential, not only for wind farm owners but also for national governments. Economic analysis approaches and cost estimation models therefore need to be accurate and computationally efficient. Thus, this paper aims to develop an economic assessment framework for decommissioning of offshore wind farms using a cost breakdown structure (CBS) approach. Methods In the development of the models, all the cost elements and their key influencing factors are identified from literature and expert interviews. Similar activities within the decommissioning process are aggregated to form four cost groups including: planning and regulatory approval, execution, logistics and waste management, and post-decommissioning. Some mathematical models are proposed to estimate the costs associated with decommissioning activities as well as to identify the most critical cost drivers in each activity group. The proposed models incorporate all cost parameters involved in each decommissioning phase for more robust cost assessment. Results and discussion A case study of a 500 MW baseline offshore wind farm is proposed to illustrate the models’ applicability. The results show that the removal of wind turbines and foundation structures is the most costly and lengthy stage of the decommissioning process due to many requirements involved in carrying out the operations. Although inherent uncertainties are taken into account, cost estimates can be easily updated when new information becomes available. Additionally, further decommissioning cost elements can be captured allowing for sensitivity analysis to be easily performed. Conclusions Using the CBS approach, cost drivers can be clearly identified, revealing critical areas that require attention for each unique offshore wind decommissioning project. The CBS approach promotes adequate management and optimisation of identified key cost drivers, which will enable all stakeholders involved in offshore wind farm decommissioning projects to achieve cost reduction and optimal schedule, especially for safety-critical tasks.

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Section: Waste Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

An economic assessment framework for decommissioning of offshore wind farms using a cost breakdown structure

Adedipe

Shafiee

2021

Int J Life Cycle Assess

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“…(Castro-Santos et al 2016) have performed a detailed cost and feasibility assessment of repowering as an end-of-life scenario for wind farms. Finally, a number of location-specific studies for repowering can be found in the literature (Bezbradica et al 2016;Sun, Gao, and Yang 2019;Topham et al 2019a).…”

Section: Repoweringmentioning

confidence: 99%

A multi-attribute review toward effective planning of end-of-life strategies for offshore wind farms

Jadali

Ιωάννου

Kolios³

2021

Energy Sources, Part B: Economics, Planning, and Policy

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With many offshore wind turbines (OWTs) approaching the end of their estimated service life, there is an increasing demand for developing and evaluating end-of-life strategies that can maximize these assets' value while at the same time satisfying the requirements of the stakeholders involved. This study aims to perform a detailed review and develop a framework that will consider multiple criteria in the decision-making process, presenting and discussing available technologies and strategies, as well as influencing factors such as schedule, cost and environmental impact. Service life extension, repowering and decommissioning are included in this review as the main end-of-life strategies considered by asset owners, and these are translated into four processes that are applicable to offshore wind farms through a generic decision tree. A SWOT analysis is also conducted which aims to compare the different characteristics of the proposed processes. The factors contributing to the uncertainty of the processes as well as lessons learnt from the oil & gas industry are also discussed.

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“…55 The issues attendant to decommissioning offshore wind farms are complex, 56,57 but the rapid growth in wind energy, in recent years, is likely to become matched by an equivalent rate of dismantlement, and for the technology to be considered as a ‘clean’ energy source, a significant degree of repurposing and recycling, with minimal final disposal of the wind turbine components, is necessary. 58 While existing experience is limited, it seems clear that there are considerable knowledge gaps regarding the various steps involved, and due to the complexity of the offshore environment, and the considerable variation among different wind energy projects, it is vital to have clear procedural plans in place, and to make appropriate risk assessments, in advance of any specific decommissioning programme being undertaken. 58 There is also, currently, a lack of a specific regulatory framework for decommissioning wind farms, which complicates such issues as liabilities, and the drawing up of necessary plans both for the process itself, and in dealing with any consequent environmental impacts.…”

Section: Recycling From Low-carbon Energy Sources: Photovoltaic Modulmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…58 While existing experience is limited, it seems clear that there are considerable knowledge gaps regarding the various steps involved, and due to the complexity of the offshore environment, and the considerable variation among different wind energy projects, it is vital to have clear procedural plans in place, and to make appropriate risk assessments, in advance of any specific decommissioning programme being undertaken. 58 There is also, currently, a lack of a specific regulatory framework for decommissioning wind farms, which complicates such issues as liabilities, and the drawing up of necessary plans both for the process itself, and in dealing with any consequent environmental impacts. 58…”

Section: Recycling From Low-carbon Energy Sources: Photovoltaic Modulmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Endangered elements, critical raw materials and conflict minerals

Rhodes¹

2019

Science Progress

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Amid present concerns over a potential scarcity of critical elements and raw materials that are essential for modern technology, including those for low-carbon energy production, a survey of the present situation, and how it may unfold both in the immediate and the longer term, appears warranted. For elements such as indium, current recycling rates are woefully low, and although a far more effective recycling programme is necessary for most materials, it is likely that a full-scale inauguration of a global renewable energy system will require substitution of many scarcer elements by more Earth-abundant material alternatives. Currently, however, it is fossil fuels that are needed to process them, and many putative Earth-abundant material technologies are insufficiently close to the level of commercial viability required to begin to supplant their fossil fuel equivalents “necessarily rapidly and at scale”. As part of a significant expansion of renewable energy production, it will be necessary to recycle elements from wind turbines and solar panels (especially thin-film cells). The interconnected nature of particular materials, for example, cadmium, gallium, germanium, indium and tellurium, all mainly being recovered from the production of zinc, aluminium and copper, and helium from natural gas, means that the availability of such ‘hitchhiker’ elements is a function of the reserve size and production rate of the primary (or ‘attractor’) material. Even for those elements that are relatively abundant on Earth, limitations in their production rates/supply may well be experienced on a timescale of decades, and so a more efficient (reduced) use of them, coupled with effective collection and recycling strategies, should be embarked upon urgently.

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Challenges of decommissioning offshore wind farms: Overview of the European experience

Cited by 35 publications

References 24 publications

An economic assessment framework for decommissioning of offshore wind farms using a cost breakdown structure

An economic assessment framework for decommissioning of offshore wind farms using a cost breakdown structure

A multi-attribute review toward effective planning of end-of-life strategies for offshore wind farms

Endangered elements, critical raw materials and conflict minerals

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