Wind Farm Work Breakdown Structure
This is a practical guide to building a work breakdown structure for a wind farm project — a deliverable-oriented decomposition of the whole scope into manageable work packages, adapted to the realities of developing an onshore or offshore wind farm.
What a Work Breakdown Structure is
A work breakdown structure is a deliverable-oriented decomposition of the whole scope into manageable work packages. For the full concept and how it works in general, see Work Breakdown Structure. On a wind farm project it plays the same role, tuned to this kind of work.
Why it matters for a Wind Farm project
Wind Farm projects live or die on developing an onshore or offshore wind farm. A well-built work breakdown structure gives the team a shared, explicit reference for exactly that — reducing ambiguity, aligning stakeholders, and making problems visible early enough to act. Skipping it, or doing it generically, is how wind farm projects drift into avoidable delay and cost.
What to include
- Top-level deliverables
- Sub-deliverables
- Work packages (8–80 hours)
- WBS numbering
- WBS dictionary entries
Wind Farm-specific considerations
Tailor the work breakdown structure to the risks that most often derail wind farm projects:
- Environmental approvals
- Turbine logistics and installation
- Grid integration
Example
On a real wind farm project, the work breakdown structure would be shaped by developing an onshore or offshore wind farm. In particular, it should explicitly account for the project’s biggest risks — environmental approvals, turbine logistics and installation, grid integration — rather than treating them as afterthoughts.