A study of current maintenance challenges in a large offshore wind farm: A case study

The aim of the present research project is to obtain a better understanding of the operations and maintenance (O&M) processes that are performed in the offshore wind energy sector. So far, the focus on O&M of offshore wind parks has been very limited and is currently in its early phase. A comparative study of the existing life cycle analysis of offshore wind parks found that the majority of these analyses do not include an O&M aspect in their calculations. In the present study the current O&M processes of a large offshore wind park is investigated. The wind park is operating in one of the most harsh and stochastic environments in the North Sea. The wind park is operated by one of Europe’s largest energy companies and the study gives an insight and a deeper understanding of the challenges of operating and maintaining a large offshore wind farm under very rough sea conditions. The main method used in this study is the case study method. We have followed a team of service-technicians for a longer period of time to investigate their work tasks. This has given an insight in how maintenance jobs are planned, carried out and.