A Probabilistic Approach for Assessing Annual Power Generation and Losses of an Offshore Wind Farm

Designing a large offshore wind farm necessitates thorough research to optimize economic returns. A significant consideration in this planning process is the electric power loss, which greatly impacts operational costs. Typically, wind power generation estimations are based on actual wind measurements, wind speed distributions, or equivalent capacity factors. This paper presents a comparative analysis of three methods for determining the annual energy production of an offshore wind farm. The study employs Monte Carlo simulation to facilitate a probabilistic load flow analysis. Furthermore, the equivalent capacity factor is obtained from actual wind speed measurements. Upon analysis, the test results highlight that the method utilizing monthly data as input shows superior outcomes in annual energy production and annual energy losses compared to the methods based on yearly data and capacity factors.