Company says offshore wind energy costs can be reduced nearly 12 pct

DNV GL, a global expert in energy efficiency, today introduced a new approach that can reduce the cost of offshore wind energy by nearly 12 percent.

The company's Project FORCE (For Reduced Cost of Energy) identified potential savings of 11.9 percent in the cost of offshore wind energy through the integration of four market-ready technologies – integrated design, relaxation of frequency constraints, enhanced control systems and slender and faster blades.

"The cost of energy produced from offshore wind is around 50 percent higher than its onshore cousin. Unless these costs are addressed urgently, they represent an existential threat to the future of offshore wind," said Tony Mercer, head of Control of Turbine Engineering at DNV GL-Energy.

Cost savings of 10 percent would equate to more than 1 billion euros (US$1.37 billion) in potential savings over the next decade if most projects constructed from 2018 onwards utilize this innovation, Mercer said.

Although the proposed technologies already exist, this cost-cutting approach has not yet been applied due to the misalignment between the risk of changes in design and the cost-savings reward.

"The problem is that wind turbine manufacturers will take on most of the risks while foundation suppliers will benefit more," said RV Ahilan, executive vice-president for Renewable Advisory at DNV GL-Energy.