Status and prospects on operation and maintenance of offshore wind turbines

Abstract

Harsh marine environment and its poor accessibility make a big challenge for the operation and maintenance (O&M) of offshore wind turbines, while the increasing offshore wind capacity and their interconnection to the power system lead the offshore O&M a hotspot of renewable energy. According to the publication data and operational experiences, the state of the art of O&M of offshore wind turbines was reviewed around the most concerned RAM (reliability, availability and maintenance) problems. The paper also summarizes the factors that may contribute to the high offshore O&M cost. The recent research focus and the potential research topics on offshore wind turbine O&M are also proposed.