Fuzzy-Based Multivariate Analysis for Input Modeling of Risk Assessment in Wind Farm Projects

Abstract

Currently, input modeling for Monte Carlo simulation (MSC) is performed either by fitting a probability distribution to historical data or using expert elicitation methods when historical data are limited. These approaches, however, are not suitable for wind farm construction, where—although lacking in historical data—large amounts of subjective knowledge describing the impacts of risk factors are available. Existing approaches are also limited by their inability to consider a risk factor’s impact on cost and schedule as dependent. This paper is proposing a methodology to enhance input modeling in Monte Carlo risk assessment of wind farm projects based on fuzzy set theory and multivariate modeling. In the proposed method, subjective expert knowledge is quantified using fuzzy logic and is used to determine the parameters of a marginal generalized Beta distribution. Then, the correlation between the cost and schedule impact is determined and fit jointly into a bivariate distribution using copulas. To evaluate the feasibility of the proposed methodology and to demonstrate its main features, the method was applied to an illustrative case study, and sensitivity analysis and face validation were used to evaluate the method. The results demonstrated that the proposed approach provides a reliable method for enhancing input modeling in Monte Carlo simulation (MCS).