How asset management can boost the competitiveness of renewable energy

In the past decade, renewable energy developed into a fast-growing industry that has become a realistic alternative to conventional methods of power generation. With a focus on the (offshore) wind energy, this paper shows how best practices from other fields of industry can be applied to increase the sector's speed of maturation. A simplified model is used to visualise the relation between cost and performance, and their effect on the price per kWh for renewable energy. Results from case studies and recent literature show that, among others, the overall effects of asset management not only lead to a reduction in maintenance costs of up to 30%, but also increase availability with 5% or more. This can potentially reduce the cost per kWh significantly, thereby giving wind energy a final push towards becoming fully competitive with conventional energy production.