CfD designs for offshore wind farms in the offshore bidding zone approach

What are the advantages and disadvantages of different CfD designs for offshore wind farms in the North Sea?

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Abstract

Offshore bidding zones will eventually result in lower revenues for offshore wind farm owners due to a lower electricity volume and price risk, especially when flow-based market coupling and advanced hybrid coupling are implemented in the electricity system. This results in a demand to improve the investment climate for offshore wind farm owners. One measure that can be taken to improve this climate can be by introducing CfD schemes.

Because of the number of different design elements, designing a CfD for a specific situation can be seen as a complex process that considers many factors tailored to offshore bidding zones. This research will give an overview of some CfD design choices that need to be taken with their consequences.

This thesis looks into the following designs:

- The conventional CfD design
- The advanced CfD design
- The capability-based CfD design
- The capability-based CfD design with a cap and floor strike price
- The financial CfD design with a reference generator
- The financial CfD with weather data as reference