Operation and Maintenance (O&M) cost and strategy of windfarms are crucial factors for determining the profitability of an investment in wind energy.
Operational Expenditure (OPEX) can be up to 40% of the wind farm lifecycle expenses, while revenues are strongly dependent on the adequate execution of maintenance activities.
To be able to control the risks, costs, and revenues, a good preparation with regards to the maintenance strategy & contracting is essential. Especially considering the challenges and complexities in, particularly, offshore wind.
The IX Wind O&M advisory team, supported by an in-house developed software tool, can provide valuable insight in your project’s optimal O&M strategy.
This software tool, SOMOS8, is of vital importance for such analyses: by varying scenarios with different strategic O&M decisions, such as crew, vessel spread and spare part strategies, the total downtime can be reduced, and turbine availability can be increased.
The next step would be to monetize the obtained results in IX’s OPEX model: the team will translate different strategies into cost price per MWh, and its relation to the expected revenue. For example, an optimised spare part strategy may increase O&M costs, but will reduce repair time, increase availability, and thus revenue. To translate everything into the project’s Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and Net Present Value (NPV), the team can assist in setting up and/or implementing the project’s financial model.
Finding the optimal wind farm’s operational phase, in terms of risks, costs and revenues, is an iterative process: IX, together with you, will prepare a base case, run the software, identify ‘pinch-points’, circle back, adjust the base case, run the software again, etc.
IX’s O&M consultants will assist you in the process of setting up and running the three aforementioned tools: SOMOS, OPEX model and the project’s financial model, help you interpret the outputs, and in implementing the required strategic decisions, so you can focus on choosing the best O&M strategy.
To request a demonstration of SOMOS8 and find out what IX could do for your wind farm’s revenues, please contact Mr. Tobias van Doorn on tobias.vandoorn@ixrenewables.com.