Decision-making methodologies in offshore wind power investments: A review

The deterioration of the environment and the depletion of resources are promoting the development of clean, renewable energy. Offshore wind is characterized by its sustainability and cleanliness, and is one of the fastest-growing renewable energy in recent years. Various methodologies have been therefore utilized to support offshore wind power investment decision-making. However, the existing literature lacks a comprehensive analysis and summary of these methods aimed at improving investment efficiency. To this end, this paper undertakes a systematic literature review of methodologies and theories commonly used in offshore wind power investment decision-making, following with the characteristics, applicability of various methods discussed and discussion of representative literature. Then, the selected papers were classified by the year of publication (2010–2020), journals, country of author affiliation, method consideration perspectives and application fields. These classifications are presented to highlight the trends, which aim to provide broad, systematic approaches and tools for assessment of power investment, and to give suggestions on which method to use for each situation. It can be seen that the popularity and applicability of these methods have improved after 2015. They cannot replace but complement each other and should be implemented in a parallel or better comprehensive way. The outputs of this review will map appropriate analytical techniques to specific investment applications and perspectives, provide researchers with guidance on future investment decision-making research, and point out any possible gaps. Specifically, through this review, decision-makers would be able to choose the best-suited or hybrid methodology, according to different fields and objects, for investment viability and effectiveness. Finally, untapped issues recognized in recent research approaches are discussed along with suggestions for future research.