Abstract: With the goal of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, the development and utilization of clean and renewable offshore wind energy have received great attention. Currently, the offshore wind industry is facing a development trend of cost reduction and efficiency improvement driven by technological innovation; The innovation of foundation type of offshore wind turbines is an important approach. To assess the economic feasibility of applying new types of foundations to offshore wind power projects, this study constructs a whole life cycle economic assessment model for these projects. A new pile-friction ring composite foundation is used as an example to evaluate the life-cycle economic benefits of applying it to an offshore wind farm with a total installed capacity of 300 MW, through calculating the construction cost of the farm and its main economic indicators during operation. This new foundation is compared with traditional pile foundations, conduit frame foundations, and high pile-bearing foundations. Sensitivity analysis is made on the main factors affecting the economic efficiency of offshore wind projects, such as construction investment, feed-in production, and parity policies. The results show the new foundation has significant economic advantages and better risk resistance.

Key words: offshore wind power, full life-cycle, economic assessment, foundation of wind power