Reliability model of large offshore wind farms

Abstract

For investors of wind farms projects, it is indispensable to get reliable prognosis of the expected energy produced per year, taking into account technical failures and the stochastic characteristic of the wind. This applies especially for offshore wind farms with higher installation costs and difficult maintenance conditions. The repair of components located on sea may take many days or even weeks because of limited access caused by bad weather conditions. Additionally, transmission system operators which are providing the point of common coupling (PCC) have to know the impact of the wind farm on the reliability of the grid. In this paper a model for the probabilistic reliability calculation of the offshore wind farms as a whole and as a part of the entire system has been introduced.