Strategic optimization of offshore wind farm installation

Abstract

This work describes logistical planning of offshore wind farm (OWF) installation through linear programming. A mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model is developed to analyze cost-effective port and vessel strategies for offshore installation operations. The model seeks to minimize total costs through strategic decisions, that is decisions on port and vessel fleet and mix. Different vessels, ports and weather restrictions over a fixed time horizon are considered in the model. Several deterministic test cases with historic weather data are implemented in AMPL, and run with the CPLEX solver. The results provide valuable insight into economic impact of strategic decisions. Numerical experiments on instances indicate that decision aid could be more reliable if large OWFs are considered in fractionated parts, alternatively by developing heuristics.