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The goal of this work is to carry out an economic analysis of a novel floating offshore wind structure, of which the main material is concrete: the SATH® platform. It takes a step forward in floating marine wind energy research, in which traditional platforms are mainly composed of steel. The technique to calculate the costs of the platform and the economic parameters to decide if the farm is economically feasible are explained in the paper. This case study analyzes a possible farm of 500 MW located in Portugal and several scenarios considering different electric tariffs and capital costs (Scenario 1: electric tariff of 50 €/MWh and 6% of capital cost; Scenario 2: electric tariff of 50 €/MWh and 8% of capital cost; Scenario 3: electric tariff of 150 €/MWh and 6% of capital cost; Scenario 4: electric tariff of 150 €/MWh and 8% of capital cost). Results show the economic feasibility of a farm with the characteristics of Scenarios 3 and 4. This work is significant in order to provide a new approach to analyzing traditional floating offshore wind structures, which can represent a path towards the future of floating offshore renewable energy technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a methodology to determine the installation costs of a floating wind farm installed offshore, the value of which depends on the type of floating offshore wind platform installed. In this context, several costs in the installation process have been defined: installation of the offshore wind generators, installation of the floating offshore wind substructures, installation of the anchoring and mooring, installation of the electric systems and the commissioning or start up of the floating offshore wind farm. Furthermore, several installation scenarios have been taken into consideration regarding the shipyard surface and draught, the number of lifts, the transport, the mooring strategy and the substation configuration. The method, tested for the region of Galicia and for three sorts of floating substructures: spar, semisubmersible and tensioned leg, allows to compare different alternatives of installing a floating offshore and the most important aspects of the costs proposed. It can be useful for investors who decide to use this type of offshore renewable energy in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]