A Dynamic Model for Supporting Decisions Regarding the Operation and Maintenance of Offshore Wind Farms

ccess to an offshore wind turbine is greatly limited by the environment; consequently operation and maintenance (O&M) can become more sporadic and infrequent. This reduces the turbine availability, thus decreasing the generated output [1]. O&M is already a large part of the life costs of a turbine, but with offshore turbines, this will increase greatly with the inclusion of vessel hire costs [2]. Due to these factors it is extremely important to have adequate operation and maintenance procedures to ensure the offshore wind farms function effectively and efficiently. Wind turbines are usually maintained in two ways: preventative and corrective [2]. The latter is reactive maintenance which occurs in response to a failure. The former aims to maintain the condition of the system at an acceptable level to avoid failure. Preventative maintenance can potentially be a more economical and practical option as vessels can be booked in advance, specific components can be ordered and this can be planned in fair weather periods. There are two types of preventative maintenance: time-based maintenance and condition-based maintenance. This paper will focus on condition based maintenance.