Extension of a minimalistic combined production/cost model for floating wind farms

The escalating energy demand and limited space for bottom-fixed offshore wind farm projects require the acceleration of floating offshore wind projects. In this master thesis, the original model for bottom-fixed offshore wind farms is extended to floating offshore wind farms. The objective is to provide a tool that estimates a floating wind farm’s potential production and cost based on easily accessible input parameters. Firstly, in the production model, a calibration of the wake parameter is implemented. It is obtained from calculating production at different locations inside a basic equally-spaced square layout of wind turbines using the Fuga wake. This calibrated version is tested and compared with the original implementation on a PyWake-compatible experimental setup. This last one implies the derivation of the area of the wind farm with the wind turbine layout and the extraction of a wind climate from the Global Wind Atlas for six real bottom-fixed wind farms. The results include a comparison with other PyWake models and demonstrate an improved estimation accuracy with the Fuga-calibrated version of the ”Minimalistic” model. Secondly, on to the global Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) and Operational Expenditure (OPEX) analysis, a comprehensive breakdown of the different components of a floating wind farm is conducted. The dependencies between cost and the input parameters of the model are derived. Specifically, the reliance on turbines, transmission systems, anchors, and installation costs on input variables are identified and supported by an extensive liter- ature review. The floating platform cost is evaluated by multiplying the estimated platform weight by the material cost. At the same time, a similar approach is used to estimate the mooring line cost by multiplying the estimated length of a catenary mooring line by the cost of the chain. Through a CAPEX breakdown, the significant influence of wind turbine and floating platform costs on the total project cost is uncovered. As a result, using both production and cost estimates derived from these analyses, LCoE is calculated for a fictive case. It involves a wind farm with 100 wind turbines with a power rated of 15MW and the available wind and bathymetry data from the North Sea. The results indicate that a semi-submersible floating wind farm becomes a cost-effective choice over a bottom-fixed wind farm at depths exceeding 60 - 65 m. Within the specific case in the North Sea, the estimated LCoE ranges between 11 and 14 €cents/kWh with a stronger dependence on wind speed compared to bathymetr