The effect of sea ice on offshore wind farm operation and maintenance

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Donnelly, Orla and Chou, Evan and Carroll, James (2025) The effect of sea ice on offshore wind farm operation and maintenance. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 3131 (1). 012047. ISSN 1742-6588 (https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/3131/1/012047)

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Abstract

The growth of offshore wind energy has led to installation in regions with challenging environmental conditions, such as high levels of sea ice, that can limit site accessibility, increase turbine downtime, and raise energy costs. This study examines the impact of sea ice on offshore wind farms, focusing on accessibility, availability, and operational costs. While ice-breaking vessels are widely used in shipping, their role in offshore wind operations remains largely unexplored. Some companies are investing in these vessels, but none have advanced beyond the construction phase. To address this gap, an O&M model is adapted to simulate sea ice conditions at three offshore wind farms: the Baltic Sea (Finland), the Bohai Sea (China), and Nova Scotia (Canada). These locations experience varying ice thickness, concentration and duration, with Nova Scotia facing four months of sea ice, while the Bohai Sea experiences only two. Case studies assess different classifications of ice-breaking vessels, ranging from those with no ice-breaking capability to Polar Class 1 vessels, that can break up to 3 metres of ice. Results indicate that in the Baltic Sea, an PC6-class ice-breaking vessel improves availability by 2.43% compared to a non-ice-breaking vessel, while the Bohai Sea sees a smaller 0.75% increase in availability due to an average lower amount of ice. However, wind farm availability plateaus once a sufficient ice-breaking capability is reached. Climate variability significantly influences outcomes, with the Canadian site experiencing up to 53 days on average per year where the site is inaccessible with no ice breaking vessels. A cost-benefit analysis evaluates the financial implications of ice-breaking vessels, finding that operational costs are significantly higher for the wind farm when no ice breaking vessels are used compared to the same wind farm utilising a ice vessel class of IB or higher. Findings provide a baseline for wind farm operators to assess the feasibility of incorporating ice-breaking strategies into maintenance planning, ultimately improving offshore wind farm performance in ice-prone regions.

ORCID iDs

Donnelly, Orla, Chou, Evan and Carroll, James ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1510-1416;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)