An optimization framework for opportunistic maintenance of offshore wind power system

A sound maintenance planning is of crucial importance for wind power farms, and especially for offshore locations. There is a large potential in cost savings by maintenance optimization to make the projects more cost-efficient. This paper presents an opportunistic maintenance optimization model for offshore wind power system. The model takes advantage of wind forecasts and corrective maintenance activities in order to perform preventive maintenance tasks at low costs. The approach is illustrated with an example to demonstrate the value of the optimization. In this example 43% of the cost to perform preventive maintenance could be saved using the proposed method.