feasible, if the offshore wind and offshore aquaculture sectors are combined in order
to coordinate and share O&M together. The presented asset management control
model proves useful in testing the innovative, interdisciplinary multi-use concepts,
simulating return rates under different assumptions, thus making the approach more
concrete and robust.
4.1 Introduction
Aquaculture within offshore wind farms has been identified as one of the many
possibilities of smart use of marine space, leading to opportunities for innovative
entrepreneurship (Buck 2002; Buck and Krause 2012; Michler-Cieluch et al. 2009a,
b; Michler-Cieluch and Krause 2008; Lagerveld et al. 2014; Verhaeghe et al. 2011).
Offshore areas potentially pose less conflict with co-users than onshore. Large wind
farms farther offshore are considered promising because of higher average wind
speeds and hence greater and more constant wind energy yield in terms of megawatts
per capital. Similarly, positive assets to aquaculture offshore are the often favorable
conditions for growth due to water depth and hydrodynamics (e.g. quick nutrient
input and waste dispersal), and less potential for disease spread, pollution and
agricultural interactions. At the same time, offshore areas and offshore constructions
are prone to high technical risks and entail additional logistical challenges.
This chapter elaborates on logistical challenges concerning operation and
maintenance (O&M) of offshore activities. O&M activities typically represent a big
part of the total costs, which are some of the main hurdles that hinder use of
offshore wind energy. It is precisely the logistical problems around O&M where
synergy benefits of multi-use platforms (MUPs) can most likely be achieved. The
offshore wind energy industry is eagerly looking for technical innovations and until
now, they mostly sought the solutions in their own circles. If the combination of
offshore wind energy and offshore aquaculture proves to be feasible and profitable
in practice, there may be additional possibilities to reduce the O&M costs by
synergistic effects of the combined operations. Reducing logistic waiting times, for
example, can result in substantial cost savings, just as timely spare-parts supply or
sufficient repair capacity (technicians) are beneficial to shorten the logistic delay
times. If the offshore wind and aquaculture sectors join forces, O&M activities can
be coordinated and shared together and thus costs saved. The aquaculture sector—
in order to be recognized as a potential partner—still has to demonstrate its feasibility offshore, though, under the wide range of rough oceanographic conditions.
Aquaculture at offshore sites faces major challenges compared to coastal and land
based production systems. The longer transport distances result in higher O&M
costs than for coastal sites. Although technical solutions have been developed and
are available (e.g. Gimpel et al. 2015; Buck et al. 2010), offshore aquaculture in the
North Sea is still absent due to economic/financial reasons and a lack of cross-sector
98
C. Röckmann et al.
to coordinate and share O&M together. The presented asset management control
model proves useful in testing the innovative, interdisciplinary multi-use concepts,
simulating return rates under different assumptions, thus making the approach more
concrete and robust.
4.1 Introduction
Aquaculture within offshore wind farms has been identified as one of the many
possibilities of smart use of marine space, leading to opportunities for innovative
entrepreneurship (Buck 2002; Buck and Krause 2012; Michler-Cieluch et al. 2009a,
b; Michler-Cieluch and Krause 2008; Lagerveld et al. 2014; Verhaeghe et al. 2011).
Offshore areas potentially pose less conflict with co-users than onshore. Large wind
farms farther offshore are considered promising because of higher average wind
speeds and hence greater and more constant wind energy yield in terms of megawatts
per capital. Similarly, positive assets to aquaculture offshore are the often favorable
conditions for growth due to water depth and hydrodynamics (e.g. quick nutrient
input and waste dispersal), and less potential for disease spread, pollution and
agricultural interactions. At the same time, offshore areas and offshore constructions
are prone to high technical risks and entail additional logistical challenges.
This chapter elaborates on logistical challenges concerning operation and
maintenance (O&M) of offshore activities. O&M activities typically represent a big
part of the total costs, which are some of the main hurdles that hinder use of
offshore wind energy. It is precisely the logistical problems around O&M where
synergy benefits of multi-use platforms (MUPs) can most likely be achieved. The
offshore wind energy industry is eagerly looking for technical innovations and until
now, they mostly sought the solutions in their own circles. If the combination of
offshore wind energy and offshore aquaculture proves to be feasible and profitable
in practice, there may be additional possibilities to reduce the O&M costs by
synergistic effects of the combined operations. Reducing logistic waiting times, for
example, can result in substantial cost savings, just as timely spare-parts supply or
sufficient repair capacity (technicians) are beneficial to shorten the logistic delay
times. If the offshore wind and aquaculture sectors join forces, O&M activities can
be coordinated and shared together and thus costs saved. The aquaculture sector—
in order to be recognized as a potential partner—still has to demonstrate its feasibility offshore, though, under the wide range of rough oceanographic conditions.
Aquaculture at offshore sites faces major challenges compared to coastal and land
based production systems. The longer transport distances result in higher O&M
costs than for coastal sites. Although technical solutions have been developed and
are available (e.g. Gimpel et al. 2015; Buck et al. 2010), offshore aquaculture in the
North Sea is still absent due to economic/financial reasons and a lack of cross-sector
98
C. Röckmann et al.