This paper proposes a combined model for port selection and supply chain optimisation for the installation phase of an offshore wind farm. Two strategic models are proposed where the first model, based on Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), aims to select the most suitable installation port. The second model is developed using Integer Linear Programming (ILP) in order to determine the optimal transportation schedule of the components from suppliers to the chosen installation port. The proposed models are evaluated for the West Gabbard (UK) offshore wind farm located in southern part of the North Sea. According to the computational results, the AHP model chooses port of Oostende, Belgium as the most suitable installation port for this offshore wind farm whereas the proposed supply chain model shows that the total transportation cost makes up 9% of total supply chain cost.
In this paper, a systematic literature review on the impact of fisheries on the economy and the application of the computable general equilibrium (CGE) and input–output (IO) methods for assessing this impact is conducted. The importance of fisheries as a food source, the over exploitation of this resource, and, consequently, the impact of fisheries on the economy are the motivations behind this study. By reviewing the applications of two of the most common economic modelling tools, we aim to shine light on the state of the art and how the impact of fisheries on the economy has been addressed in the literature. In this analysis, three main themes of socio-economic, ecological, and environmental have been identified, and the application of these methods in each theme has been considered. The results show that while IO methods continue to be applied in the literature, the CGE method has experienced increased application recently, and future applications are anticipated due to its enhanced capabilities in comparison with IO models.
Offshore wind energy has achieved significant reductions in its levelized cost of energy (LCoE) in the past decade, but still needs efficiency improvements. Approximately 18% of the LCoE is related to logistical costs, underscoring the need for optimization in this area. Despite its importance, logistical decisions during offshore wind farm installations remain underexplored in the literature. This article aims to identify and structure the relationships of logistic decisions to optimize total installation costs. A conceptual framework is proposed, detailing logistical decisions and their influencing factors. The results are based on a literature review and survey research for validation with specialists in logistics and offshore wind farms. The findings include the key decisions: port installation selection; vessel fleet selection; installation strategy selection; turbine pre-assembly method selection; aggregate planning approach; installation schedule coverage; storage strategy of components; and the degree of sharing information. The framework reveals the importance of coordinating the value chain in the installation process, mainly due to the influence of weather factors; the logistic decisions, when considered in a systemic view, can contribute to a global efficiency gain in the installation process.
In this paper, a sustainability framework with a case application for UK’s Scottish fisheries has been developed which integrates aspects related to economic growth, social development, governance, biology, environment, and logistics. Scotland is the centre of UK’s commercial fishery sector however it faces challenges such as overexploitation, and changes in the governance structure following Brexit. The contributions of this study are threefold including (i) collecting and analysing primary data gathered from a diverse group of stakeholders in the Scottish fishery sector and scientific community, (ii) prioritising a diverse range of criteria in terms of importance in decision making from industry and scientific community perspectives, (iii) elaboration of the key management objectives in this region within the context of sustainable management of fisheries in the UK.The results of this stakeholders’ survey show that the key management objectives are reductions in overexploitation of stocks, inclusive governance, increase in transparency and simplicity of policy measures, reduction in marine litter, and increase in the efficiency of vessels. The analysis also shows that the industry group places a higher importance on socio-economic objectives such as increase in profit and employment compared to the scientific group. On the other hand, the scientific group prioritised the objectives such as reducing discards, bycatch, and impact on seafloor compared to the industry group. This study provides insight for the UK’s fisheries sector, and scientific advisory groups for the enhanced implementation of sustainable fisheries management policies.