Research published on potential to improve load factor of offshore wind farms in the UK to 2035

The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy has commissioned DNV GL to examine long-term offshore wind load factor assumptions used in its modelling of UK offshore wind farms.

Load factor is the ratio of the amount of electricity produced by a wind farm to its total potential, based on nameplate capacity, over a period of time (usually one year, to account for seasonal variability in output).

The purpose of this research is a better understanding of technological learning rates of offshore wind. This will enable better predictions of the long-term energy production potential and load factor of UK offshore wind farms.

The study also assessed the levelised cost of new offshore wind technologies, taking into account the continued industry drive to reduce costs.

The research:

• reviews current technology and assessment of representative UK offshore wind load factor
• identifies future offshore wind technologies with the potential for commercial deployment in the period to 2035
• assesses the potential impact on load factor and cost of each technology, through comprehensive modelling of a hypothetical offshore wind farm
• contains a survey of industry stakeholders, providing industry opinion on future technologies and validation of the modelling results
• assesses the potential for transfer of the identified technologies to the onshore wind industry
• estimates the effect of technological development on load factors of UK offshore wind farms in the period to 2035