Impact of the rotor blade technology on the levelized cost of energy of an offshore wind turbine

In this article, the impact of different wind blade technologies on the levelized cost of energy of an offshore wind turbine is investigated. Blade technologies differ in material and fabrication processes, and this results in variations of the blade mass and cost. According to the blade technology, the blade mass can be characterized by an analytical function of the blade length. Results show a clear advantage of reducing the blade mass. The mass of commercial blades has been increasing as the square of their length. If future development efforts can maintain this trend, a benefit for offshore wind energy is expected.