Simulating the effect of access road route slection on wind farm construction

Wind energy as a power source is attractive alternative to fossil fuels. Wind farms are typically constructed in undeveloped rural areas with challenging topography. The lack of a paved road network leading to the site and within the site itself pose significant challenges to the planning of wind farm construction. Therefore the selection of the most appropriate access road route is essential in the overall planning of the wind farm construction. This paper presents an overall view of the construction process and will focus on the selection of access road routes to optimize the overall wind farm construction. An integrated framework for wind farm construction is presented and the problem of optimal access road selection is highlighted. A discrete event simulation model is developed for the site construction and the model is used to test the impact of various access road routes on the overall duration of the project. A numeric example is presented along with conclusions, limitations and suggestions for future research.