The impact of seasonality on offshore wind farm decommissioning projects - A case study in the North Sea

Philipp Dinsing, Onur A. Kilic, Jasper Veldman and Christian Hicks

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2025, vol. 224, issue C

Abstract: This paper investigates the interplay of two understudied factors that affect offshore wind decommissioning: project costs and durations; and the seasonality of weather conditions and the role of vessel capabilities. A simulation model was developed that replicates day-to-day decommissioning logistics, with weather fluctuations over time being represented by Markov chains. The numerical study found that seasonal weather fluctuations have a significant influence on project performance, potentially delaying an average-sized project by up to 101 days with cost increases of up to €14.1 million. This underlines the criticality of a project's start date. The number of turbines being decommissioned was found to have the strongest impact on the interplay between seasonality and project performance. This impact could be mitigated by increasing the capacity of vessels and the permitted operational wave height thresholds. This study is the first to quantify the significance of considering weather seasonality in a decommissioning context and provides an overview of the factors that influence performance. The study offers valuable insights for offshore wind farm operators and helps explain the relationship between project start dates and project duration and costs.

Keywords: Offshore wind; Decommissioning; Wind turbine installation vessels; Logistics; Seasonality; Simulation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2025.116099

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