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How offshore wind can take lessons from oil and gas decommissioning
While it’s by no means a new market, offshore wind remains relatively new compared to established industries like oil and gas, in terms of development and decommissioning. Over the last few decades, O&G has developed and installed multiple offshore assets, many of which are being removed, creating a considerable learning opportunity for many other sectors. Decommissioning will become a priority for many existing offshore wind sites and the industry could benefit by assessing the challenges experienced by O&G to determine what lessons can be applied for future strategies.
The overall design has a huge impact on sustainably decommissioning a site. When much of the O&G infrastructure was built in the North Sea many years ago, designing for removal was not a factor. When considering the waste hierarchy to O&G decommissioning, many prioritise recycling. Ultimately, decommissioning projects are primarily waste management projects but the historically fragmented approach to this in O&G can cause issues with this process.
For offshore wind, the sector must consider sustainable decommissioning in waste management and adopt an approach that enables designs to focus on maximising reuse. The priority should explore full asset reuse when possible, followed by partial reuse and reusing parts. The designs should allow repurposing assets and associated components, with recycling considered a last option.
Adopting a backwards approach to wind farm design will reduce waste within the development life. During the construction phase, processes that enable component removal for either reuse or repair should be prioritised. At the same time, the steps in the operation and maintenance state should ensure components are not being scrapped and replaced unnecessarily. Equally important is keeping a record of maintenance that is shared efficiently.
At the end of life, decommissioning should reduce waste and ensure assets and components are reused wherever they can.
Creating a structured waste management plan at the initial design phase would be a positive step towards creating a sustainable future. Details on the types and volumes of waste generated can support manufacturers with maximising reuse, repair and recycling during the project life.
The UK Government offshore leasing rounds encourage bidders to show ambition regarding sustainable procurement, and implementing a definitive waste management plan would showcase this.
