Economic Feasibility of Floating Offshore Wind Farms in the North of Spain

• Published in: Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
• Main Authors: Laura Castro-Santos, A. Rute Bento, Dina Silva, Nadia Salvação, C. Guedes Soares
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020
• Subjects: floating offshore wind; feasibility study; internal rate of return; levelized cost of energy (lcoe); net present value; Naval architecture. Shipbuilding. Marine engineering; VM1-989; Oceanography; GC1-1581; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse8010058; https://doaj.org/article/d10d9fb2f2974aea9d82e0db7e6979fa

This paper assesses the economic feasibility of offshore wind farms installed in deep waters considering their internal rate of return (IRR), net present value (NPV), and levelized cost of energy (LCOE). The method proposed has three phases: geographic phase, economic phase, and restrictions phase. The purpose of the geographic step is to obtain the input values, which will be used in the economic phase. Then, the economic parameters are calculated considering the inputs provided previously. Finally, the bathymetric restriction is added to the economic maps. The case study focused on the Cantabric and North-Atlantic coasts of Spain, areas that have not been studied previously in economic terms regarding floating offshore wind technology. Moreover, several alternatives have been considered, taking into account the type of floating offshore wind structure and the electric tariff. Results indicate which is the best floating offshore wind structure with respect to LCOE, IRR, and NPV, and where is the best location for the connection of a floating offshore wind farm in the region selected.