Use of Markov decision processes in the evaluation of corrective maintenance scheduling policies for offshore wind farms

Abstract

Optimization of the maintenance policies for offshore wind parks is an important step in lowering the costs of energy production from wind. The yield from wind energy production is expected to fall, which will increase the need to be cost efficient. In this article, the Markov decision process is presented and how it can be applied to evaluate different policies for corrective maintenance planning. In the case study, we show an alternative to the current state-of-the-art policy for corrective maintenance that will achieve a cost-reduction when energy production prices drop below the current levels. The presented method can be extended and applied to evaluate additional policies, with some examples provided.