Improved Offshore Wind Farm System Planning and Operation with Scenario-Based Methodology and Model-Based Systems Engineering

Inhalt:
The transformation of the energy system requires the integration of numerous renewable energy projects into the grid, with offshore wind farms playing a key role due to their high-capacity and stable power generation. To ensure efficient and reliable operation, component failure rates and repair times must be minimized. Since complex enterprises, such as offshore maintenance, involve various stakeholders and are influenced by environmental factors, a systematic planning approach is essential to keep the downtimes to a minimum. Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) has already proven effective in the design of high-voltage direct current (HVDC) systems for offshore wind farms and in organizing complex systems. The development of autonomous vehicles creates structurally similar challenges regarding interdisciplinarity and the need to manage complexity. The required collaboration among multiple stakeholders and needs for well-defined workflows in the field of automated driving have led to scenario-based approaches with shared definitions, description languages, and terminology. These approaches have proven to support interdisciplinary requirement analysis, risk assessment, and integration testing. For this paper, we address the question whether scenariobased design could also improve the planning and operation of energy systems, particularly offshore wind farms. Therefore, as a first step, this paper explores the transferability of methods from the automotive sector to the energy industry. A case study on an offshore cable repair illustrates the potential to enhance processes across sectors. Initial findings suggest that this knowledge transfer has the potential to improve the planning and operation of large renewable energy projects. Benefits and potential challenges of the approach are discussed in detail in the main part of the paper.