Developers will need to spend between £1.28bn and £3.64bn to decommission 37 operational and under-construction offshore wind farms off the UK.
Decommissioning will likely see foundations, turbines and offshore substations removed from the sea, according to a report published by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
Export and array cabling is likely to remain in situ with stray ends to be buried by remotely operated vehicles.
The report, compiled with the aid of consultancy Arup, said developers had not factored in decommissioning into levelised cost of electricity (LCoE) calculations.
BEIS estimated decommissioning costs raise LCoE at UK projects by “around 1%” on current figures.
“A key driver of the relatively small impact on LCoE is that the costs take place nearly 30 years in the future, and are therefore heavily discounted to present values,” the report said.
Developers need to set aside funds to ensure they can foot the bill for future decommissioning works, it added.
BEIS, The Crown Estate and the Scottish Government are ultimately responsible for decommissioning, should developers default on their obligations.
Vessel day rates, weather downtime and operators progression along the decommissioning learning curve will determine what cost reductions can be achieved from the retirement process, the report said.
BEIS also highlighted the need for a “regular review” of decommissioning dates.
“It is likely that improved late life management and repowering could extend the operational life of any offshore wind farm,” it said.
A copy of the full report can be seen here.
Photo: reNEWS
UK counts offshore retirement cost
By EBS