O&M strategies for offshore renewable energy projects in Chile: a comparative analysis

Abstract

Operation and maintenance (O&M) are fundamental aspects to study in offshore renewable energy (ORE) projects, due to high economic costs, operational difficulties involved and the immaturity of its development in emerging markets. In this study, a geo-referenced, time-domain discrete event simulation tool is presented, designed to evaluate the life cycle of ORE projects, evaluating different sites, technologies and O&M strategies at an early stage, to support decision-making of project developers and government entities. Using environmental (behind cast) and operational parameters (e.g. port closure criteria), the performance of devices at a site is evaluated, generating information about the energy production and downtime of devices and their effect on total energy production. Considering that maintenance is subject to environmental and operational limits for operations such as cargo handling or crew transfer, the current tool integrates the operational characteristics of both the device and the involved vessels, which are obtained from numerical simulations or model scale experiments. As an application example, a comparison of the effect of selecting monohull- or SWATH-type SOVs (service operations vessels) on a floating wind energy pilot project located in central Chile are presented.