SPARTA is an offshore wind farm performance benchmarking tool, run by industry for industry. Standing for ‘System Performance, Availability and Reliability Trend Analysis’, this tool allows owner/operators of offshore wind farms to compare key performance indicators (KPIs) for their farms to aggregated and anonymised benchmarks.

The SPARTA Joint Industry Project (JIP) is sponsored by The Crown Estate and the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult.

This report is split into 3 sections:

1. The Year in Review

The report gives highlights of benchmarks from the 2021/22 financial year, showing the trends of metrics such as capacity factor, production-based availability and turbine transfers. The year is compared to previous years in order to evaluate how the industry is changing. We also draw out more general insights from the set, including a further look at the effect of the pandemic and at component failures.

2. Grid Curtailment and Availability Loss

Examining a key factor during the year that led to lower availability figures, we highlight the impact that forced curtailment from  system operators has on production.

3. Operations and Performance Throughout the Life of
a Turbine

Delving into trends across the age of windfarms in the set, the review questions whether the common bathtub curve of reliability is apparent in the portfolio. It examines metrics such as availability, forced outages and major repairs across the lifespan of a turbine.

Find out more about SPARTA here.