Wave Energy Operation And Maintenance Parametric Analysis

Abstract

The Wave Energy Maintenance Model, as described in the Summary, was produced to allow the effect of variations in WEC design or in maintenance strategy on the total Operation and Maintenance (O & M) costs of wave energy array to be easily and quickly calculated and assessed. Since the model is parametric, factors can be changed and the results of the changes can be seen in the costs of the various operations. Having this facility available, an analysis of the sensitivity of the O & M costs to changes in certain parameters has been possible. The results presented in this report are not device specific. They are based on an array of devices which have the main plant items on-board the WECs. The devices may be bottom sitting or floating. The aim of the results shown here is to indicate trends in O & M costs and to provide some basic rules of thumb that can be applied to O & M costs for any device. The actual costs given are of the right order of magnitude for current devices, but do not represent the actual O & M costs of a specific device. Throughout the report, O & M costs are broken down into the same Cost Centres as used in the Model and described in the Model Summary. This report also contains an Appendix which illustrates the inter-dependancies existing between cost items in different areas of the Model. This allows the full effect of a change in parameters to be seen. It also describes the fundamental assumptions implicit in these results presented in this report.