A techno-economic assessment of decommissioning an offshore wind farm in The Netherlands

Offshore wind energy is essential for the global energy transition, but many countries overlook the decommissioning phase, leading to final inflated budget and excessive bank guarantees. In this paper, the current regulatory framework for offshore wind farm decommissioning is evaluated and process optimisation to reduce costs while meeting international regulatory, environmental and safety standards is explored. By analysing market knowledge and assembling a project team, it was estimated that costs can be reduced by 20% through optimised processes and government agreements. Key cost drivers include foundation removal, requiring expensive jack-up vessels, and risks such as vessel availability and logistics delays. Early planning is recommended to mitigate these risks. While the study's findings show potential for cost savings, further decommissioning projects are needed to validate the assumptions and technical solutions. A budget estimation following a selected decommissioning strategy was made, which shows that initial budget estimations could be reduced by 20% when processes are optimised and agreements are made with the government.