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Economic and sensitivity analysis on wind farm end-of-life strategies

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  • Leite, Gustavo de Novaes Pires
  • Weschenfelder, Franciele
  • Farias, João Gabriel de
  • Kamal Ahmad, Muhammad

Abstract

Wind energy is a renewable energy source gaining significant attention lately, with the first wind farms nearing the end of their operational lives. With increasing installed capacity, a large number of wind farms will have to make critical end-of-life decisions in the coming years. Repowering and lifetime extension are two end-of-life strategies considered in this study. Technical and economic analyses were conducted for a wind farm in Brazil, a country with a prominent wind energy sector. A mathematical model was implemented to evaluate the economic benefits of each alternative, considering conditional and functional aspects, and was compared against a decommissioned wind farm, which represents the base case scenario. For the lifetime extension, three cases are considered: a light, medium, and substantial overhaul, which affects not only the generation but also the capital and operational expenditures of an overhauled wind turbine. A global sensitivity model is used to determine the most sensitive parameters affecting the economic results and to extend the cash flow analysis. The output reveals the economic viability of both strategies and their most critical variables, namely the energy tariff, capacity factor, and capital and operational expenditures. In addition, repowering exhibits improved feasibility in terms of economic indicators and undesirable results for the critical variables; therefore, lifetime extension becomes a low-risk alternative because of its highly stable effects, even though it has less number of positive economic indexes.

Suggested Citation

  • Leite, Gustavo de Novaes Pires & Weschenfelder, Franciele & Farias, João Gabriel de & Kamal Ahmad, Muhammad, 2022. "Economic and sensitivity analysis on wind farm end-of-life strategies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:160:y:2022:i:c:s1364032122001939
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2022.112273
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    1. Liu, Fa & Sun, Fubao & Wang, Xunming, 2023. "Impact of turbine technology on wind energy potential and CO2 emission reduction under different wind resource conditions in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 348(C).

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