Introduction to use cases of Optioneer
Optioneer is built to support decision making in early-stage, linear infrastructure projects which focus on developing greenfield (new) assets. Optioneer allows to rapidly generate a large volume of options and design data. Optioneer provides most value at the very early stages of projects.
Across utilities and renewables sectors, projects where Optioneer is used are usually motivated by:
network capacity upgrades which require a new asset to be built (cable, overhead line, pipeline)
new connections such as wind farms going online or new developments requiring a new pipeline
network-to-network connections such as interconnectors between countries or strategic pipeline transfer schemes
Optioneer covers a variety of infrastructure types and the outputs it provides contribute to various stages of projects. There are common themes across all of the projects where Optioneer can contribute to the quality and speed of early-stage design:
Strategic optioneering
Feasibility assessment
Corridor Identification
Option development and justification
These themes are explored in greater detail below.
Strategic optioneering
The objective of studies like this is to identify a broad range of potential scenarios, usually related to expanding of the network or creating new connections. An example of such study is a strategic location assessment for a wind farm (with many possible offshore and onshore locations) or a long term water network resources plan that evaluates transfer requirements for decades to come.
These projects effectively replicate the process of a feasibility assessment for each pair of endpoints (like substations or reservoirs).
Optioneer facilitates strategic optioneering by:
Offering ability to carry out dozens of scenario assessments with little effort (using cloud computing).
Offer a structured and data-driven approach to scoring and ranking of various options.
Allowing for quick iteration in case of change of assumptions.
Bringing substantial engineering detail and data into early analysis and increasing confidence over decisions made.
To illustrate this a bit more: Optioneer was used to assess over 100 offshore wind grid connection scenarios in just one month. This allowed our client to explore multiple site locations, with multiple offshore substation locations, landfalls, and onshore substations. Optioneer gave them powers to 'scan' an area spanning a good portion of a country as they were seeking the most cost-effective scenario for their investment.
Feasibility assessment
At the very early stages of project development, it might be necessary to assess the level of feasibility and viability of a new asset. An example of such study is a feasibility assessment of a transfer pipeline between two water networks.
The main objective of the stage is to quickly and efficiently gain understanding about:
Viability - cost;
Technical feasibility - overall level of technical difficulty and any major deliverability challenges;
Consenting, Environmental & Social - presence of any major constraints influencing the route or making the connection impossible
Optioneer supports feasibility assessment by:
Quickly generating and assessing a broad range of route options;
Providing top-level evaluation metrics quantifying objectives including e.g. CAPEX, any major crossings and environmental impact. These metrics can be used to compile a Black Red Amber Green (BRAG) assessment;
Highlighting most constrained locations and those posing the highest risk to the project;
Combining all disciplines in one place to provide a holistic assessment of feasibility.
To illustrate this a bit more: Optioneer was used on a strategic water resources assessment that spanned half of a major country in Europe. The tool was used to evaluate around 100 possible pipelines that could be built to provide stable supply and transfer of fresh water until year 2100. The analysis was linked to potential investment decisions so getting a feel of how much individual connections will cost and what parameters they could have was crucial. Optioneer brought design-level detail on CAPEX, asset lifetime costs and main risk assessment to this very early stage study and gave clients additional confidence in decisions they were making.
Corridor(s) identification
Corridor identification is one of the most important tasks in early stage design of linear assets. The purpose is to identify an area for more detailed study (like a survey or a site visit).
Optioneer facilitates corridor identification by:
Quickly generating and assessing a broad range of diverse route options on a wide range of important metrics related to cost, feasibility, risk etc.
Providing visualisation for identifying where the most feasible corridors are (heatmaps showing clustering of options).
Helping identify pinch-points and high-risk areas using heatmaps, metrics and 'features within catchment'.
Bringing technical detail into the process which allows to identify technical / construction risks which otherwise won't be caught using normal methods.
To illustrate this a bit more: Optioneer was recently used on a 220km offshore routing project with extremely tight timelines and it helped identify suitable survey corridors for the asset in around 25% of the time it usually takes. Despite short timelines, client had confidence in the selection of preferred corridors as circa 30 million alternatives were analysed to arrive at the final recommendation. Moreover, additional data exported from Optioneer helped gave the subsequent EIA team a head start, further reducing timelines on the project.
Route option(s) development
Development of various potential route options is a fundamental step of every project involving linear assets. A number of possible options is assessed to decide which one should be taken into further development and design.
Optioneer facilities route options development by:
Using its powerful AI engine to 'search' for the best solutions in the projects area, ensuring that all possible options are explored.
Providing top-level evaluation metrics quantifying objectives including e.g. CAPEX, any major crossings and environmental impact. These metrics can be used to compile a Black Red Amber Green (BRAG) assessment.
Combining environmental, socio-economic and technical aspects in one analysis to provide a holistic assessment of options.
Developing evidence to support subsequent Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and public consultations.
Allowing for quick iteration in case new data becomes available or assumptions change.
To illustrate this a bit more: Optioneer was recently used in a bid for a design+build water scheme in the United States. Our client used Optioneer to develop various options to include in the bid and evaluated potential 'new concepts' against the brief. Optioneer allowed to get to detail quickly, build a coherent and evidence-driven pitch. In the end, six potential options were included at the bid stage, all developed to a much deeper level of detail than normally.
Use cases by asset type
This section provides a list of key applications of Optioneer segmented by asset type.
Offshore cables
Project types:
wind farm export cables
interconnectors
telecom cables
Project use cases:
Defining an optimal corridor for a survey
Determining impact of cable route on suitable location of landfall, offshore substation, wind farm site
Developing feasible routes for cables
Identifying installation challenges for cable routes
Justifying route selection to stakeholders (government organisations, environmental agencies, other sea users)
Onshore cables (underground)
Project types:
offshore wind farm export cables (onshore component)
interconnectors (onshore component)
new grid connections (wind, solar, any other generation)
Project use cases:
Defining an optimal construction corridor
Determining impact of cable route on suitable location of landfall and onshore substation (grid connection)
Developing feasible routes for cables
Identifying environmental and technical risks for construction
Justifying route selection to stakeholders and general public
Onshore pipelines (non-water)
Project types:
network expansion
new asset types - hydrogen, CO2
transfer schemes
Project use cases:
Defining an optimal construction corridor
Developing feasible alignments for water pipelines
Assessing alternatives from the perspective of TOTEX and CAPEX
Justifying route selection to stakeholders and general public
Optimising material and operational parameters' selection
Onshore water pipelines
Project types:
network expansion
network-to-network transfer schemes (long term resilience)
strategic resource and network assessment
Project use cases:
Defining an optimal construction corridor
Developing feasible alignments for water pipelines
Assessing alternatives from the perspective of TOTEX and CAPEX
Justifying route selection to stakeholders and general public
Optimising material and operational parameters' selection
Overhead power lines
Project types:
new grid connections
grid capacity upgrades
resilience connections (long distance connectors)
Project use cases:
Defining an optimal construction corridor
Developing feasible alignments for overhead lines
Minimizing impact on environment and society
Justifying route selection to stakeholders and general public