Decision Support for Operations and Maintenance of Offshore Wind Parks

The world needs cleaner energy, and it needs more to keep up with the growing demand globally. Renewable energy can provide long-term and low emission energy, and wind energy has a large potential. Offshore wind energy capacity in the EU have grown from zero in 1990 to 4 GW in 2011, meeting 0.4 % of electricity demand in the European Union, and the aim is to have 150 GW installed capacity by 2030. However, revenue is an issue in order to make offshore wind energy economically viable in the future, hence, costs must be lowered and at the same time availability must be increased. This paper presents a simulation model developed for research experiments and decision support. It is based on an ongoing project in the North Sea region that investigates configurations of operational infrastructure and work management systems under different governing conditions. The project closely collaborates with one of the largest offshore wind park operators in North Sea, and aims at the use of agent-based and discrete event simulation to experiment with different wind park development scenarios, and to eventually provide decision support for wind park developers and—operators. Despite the use of different modeling techniques in offshore wind sector, the potential benefits of agent-based simulation models in operational planning and work management is still to be explored. The simulation model developed in this paper is based on a multi-method paradigm involving both discrete-event and agent-based modeling. This multi-method approach helps largely in limiting the set of assumptions as well as in managing the drawbacks associated with a specific simulation technique. The paper intends to explain the simulation model developed, discuss the validity of the model and how such models can provide information for decision making in planning and operating offshore wind parks.