Sailing through end-of-life challenges: A comprehensive review for offshore wind

Jade Vetters, Gwenny Thomassen and Steven Van Passel

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2024, vol. 199, issue C

Abstract: Over the past thirty years, European offshore wind farm development surged, yet end-of-life and decommissioning considerations were overshadowed by initial climate and energy security objectives during design and construction. As the first major projects near their final decade, numerous unanswered questions persist. Through a comprehensive literature review, this study identifies, maps, and evaluates challenges across technical, economic, environmental, social, and policy dimensions spanning five end-of-life phases: planning, dismantling, transport and logistics, waste management, and site recovery. Examining 42 publications reveals 46 distinct challenges affecting stakeholders such as the end-of-life supply chain, policy makers, and society. While 33 % of the challenges manifested in the technical dimension, 48 % of the challenges covered the planning phase. Notably, the economic challenge of vessel cost and availability was raised most often. Less-explored challenges underscore the importance of consideration before the end-of-life phase intensifies. The study illustrates the complex interconnection of numerous end-of-life challenges across phases, dimensions, and disciplines, emphasizing the imperative of addressing bottlenecks in a comprehensive and integrated manner. The results of this study help steering future research, while also improving awareness of challenges for stakeholders, emphasizing the need for collaborative efforts between governmental bodies and industry stakeholders to address imminent challenges through transparent guidelines, data exchange, and circular design principles. The novelty of this study lies in its holistic, multidisciplinary approach, systematic framework for identifying challenges, and critical perspective unveiling interconnectedness.

Keywords: Decommissioning; Renewable energy; Wind energy; Circular economy; Literature review; Waste management; Sustainability planning; Policy uncertainty; Recycling; Social responsibility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2024.114486

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