Offshore Wind Farms

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Economics of building and operating offshore wind farms

P.E. Morthorst,  and L. Kitzing     Technical University of Denmark, Roskilde, Denmark

Abstract

In a number of countries, offshore turbines are taking on an increasingly important role in the development of wind power, particularly in the north-western part of Europe. Expectations are that a total offshore wind capacity of 43 GW will be implemented in the European Union by 2020. This chapter focuses on the economics of building and operating offshore wind farms, addressing the key economic drivers, investments, operating costs and levelised cost of energy. The main emphasis is on the costs of offshore wind farms and how these costs have developed over time.

Keywords

Investments; Key economic ...