Mengcheng Wu’s scientific contributions

As a new clean and sustainable energy that can reduce carbon emissions, offshore wind energy has received much more attention in recent years. In response to the complexity and flexibility issues in the decision-making process of offshore wind power investment, this paper proposes an investment decision framework based on a bidimensional binominal lattice that embeds deferral options, aiming to derive the appropriate development timing and investment potential for corporate investors in uncertain environment of market and technological development. And the investment model embedding revenue from carbon emission reduction highlights the advantages of clean energy. Furthermore, we creatively compare the policy effects of three subsidy schemes using the model as a policy analysis tool and use scenario analysis to simulate the impacts of dynamic adjustments in subsidies on investment decisions. For the case of an offshore wind power plant in Guangdong province, China, we find that the local government has to provide a subsidy of 0.11 CNY/kWh to allow the project to be profitable. In the absence of subsidies, however, it is preferable to defer the decision of investment with a wait-and-see attitude. Given the same total government financial input, we find that it will be more beneficial for the government to provide R&D subsidy than electricity tariff subsidy and operation subsidy in terms of long-term sustainable development. Our findings also demonstrate that considerations in the carbon trading market will also contribute to the development of offshore wind power. The conclusions of this article can provide valuable guidelines for corporate investors to adjust the appropriate development timing and for policymakers to optimize subsidy allocation, so as to promote the healthy development of offshore wind power and low-carbon transition.

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.