Thirty years may be an achievable target for the lifespan of an offshore wind farm rather than 20 or 25 years, according to a new report released today.
The report – ‘Reducing The Levelised Cost of Energy: Challenges, Trends and Opportunities in Today’s Wind Projects for Tomorrow’s Business Cases’ – was produced by K2 Management and specialist insurance broker JLT Specialty.
It reviewed data from 60 onshore and offshore projects throughout Europe and Latin America.
A quarter of projects surveyed are looking to extend the lifespan of the wind farm by five years, the report said.
It also found that developers are taking action to reduce risk exposure on projects, with 60% of pre-construction offshore projects adopting five or less engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) contracts.
“Limiting these contracts could potentially reduce the costs of projects overrunning and the likelihood of a knock-on effect on other contractors as a result,” K2 and JLT said.
One quarter of the projects surveyed had underestimated the costs of operational expenditure, leading to concerns that this could have implications on performance and valuation of the project further down the line.
K2 Management global head of due diligence Simon Luby said: “This report gives an opportunity for the industry to gain an insight into real wind projects in the bigger picture, and our experts have used this data to deliver insight into how these trends will reflect on the projects of the future.”
Image: reNEWS
