Analysis of United Kingdom offshore wind farm performance using public data: improving the evidence base for policymaking.

Aldersey-Williams, John; Broadbent, Ian D.; Strachan, Peter A.

Abstract

Policymakers increasingly need to balance the requirements of energy demand, security and costs: they need accurate estimates of performance. This paper uses public data to assess UK offshore wind farm performance to improve policy decisions. It finds that average capacity factors have improved from 34.9% in Round 1 to 41.0% in Round 2 projects. Drivers for performance are examined and the correlations in performance between UK offshore wind farms analysed. The paper also addresses problems with existing capacity factor estimates and generates new estimates of inter-year variability of capacity factor, providing a more accurate evidence base for policy decisions.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Feb 29, 2020
• Journal: Utilities policy
• Print ISSN: 0957-1787
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 62
• Article Number: 100985
• Institution Citation: ALDERSEY-WILLIAMS, J., BROADBENT, I.D. and STRACHAN, P.A. 2020. Analysis of United Kingdom offshore wind farm performance using public data: improving the evidence base for policymaking. Utilities policy [online], 62, article ID 100985. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jup.2019.100985
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jup.2019.100985
• Keywords: Policymakers; UK; Offshore wind farms; Performance; Capacity