Benchmarking Wind Farm Projects by Means of Series Two-Stage DEA

Abstract

This paper presents a data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach to benchmark a group of wind farm (WF) projects in Greece by employing a series two-stage structure. In the first stage, the investment performance of projects is evaluated using contract data and site wind conditions, though in the second stage the WF operational efficiency is evaluated using data on production inputs and output. Inefficiency occurs in both the construction and operating stages, but the construction process appears to be more inefficient relative to the operating phase. Moreover, WF size is related to operating efficiency and sensitivity analysis results identify wind speed and WF installation capacity as the factors that affect the investment performance and operational efficiency, respectively. The proposed approach is an addition to the existing literature and it can be used by managers and facility operators.

Keywords

• data envelopment analysis
• wind energy
• wind farm projects
• power sector