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Assessing the life cycle environmental impacts of wind power: A review of present knowledge and research needs
Abstract
We critically review present knowledge of the life cycle environmental impacts of wind power. We find that the current body of life cycle assessments (LCA) of wind power provides a fairly good overall understanding of fossil energy use and associated pollution; our survey of results that appear in existing literature give mean values (± standard deviation) of, e.g., 0.060 (±0.058) kW h energy used and 19 (±13) g CO2e emitted per kW h electricity, suggesting good environmental performance vis-à-vis fossil-based power. Total emissions of onshore and offshore wind farms are comparable. The bulk of emissions generally occur in the production of components; onshore, the wind turbine dominates, while offshore, the substructure becomes relatively more important. Strong positive effects of scale are present in the lower end of the turbine size spectrum, but there is no clear evidence for such effects for MW-sized units. We identify weaknesses and gaps in knowledge that future research may address. This includes poorly understood impacts in categories of toxicity and resource depletion, lack of empirical basis for assumptions about replacement of parts, and apparent lack of detailed considerations of offshore operations for wind farms in ocean waters. We argue that applications of the avoided burden method to model recycling benefits generally lack transparency and may be inconsistent. Assumed capacity factor values are generally higher than current mean realized values. Finally, we discuss the need for LCA research to move beyond unit-based assessments in order to address temporal aspects and the scale of impacts.
... In general, inland winds are weaker and less consistent than offshore winds Yang, 2012a, 2012b;Msigwa et al., 2022). Offshore wind is also advantageous for reducing wind-induced turbine fatigue since it has lower turbulence intensity and a more steady prevailing direction (Arvesen and Hertwich, 2012;Lindeboom et al., 2015). Moreover, an offshore wind turbine (OWT) 2 is less constrained by noise limits, visual obstruction, space limitations and objections from nearby neighbors comparing to onshore wind turbines (Arvesen and Hertwich, 2012;Lindeboom et al., 2015;Chen and Kim, 2022). ...
... Offshore wind is also advantageous for reducing wind-induced turbine fatigue since it has lower turbulence intensity and a more steady prevailing direction (Arvesen and Hertwich, 2012;Lindeboom et al., 2015). Moreover, an offshore wind turbine (OWT) 2 is less constrained by noise limits, visual obstruction, space limitations and objections from nearby neighbors comparing to onshore wind turbines (Arvesen and Hertwich, 2012;Lindeboom et al., 2015;Chen and Kim, 2022). It is expected that OWFs will significantly grow over the next few years due to the growing global demand for clean eLeung and Yang, 2012a, 2012bnergies, the expansion of the renewable energy industry, and the possibility of higher wind speed of the offshore over the onshore winds (Díaz and Guedes Soares, 2020;Bergström et al., 2014). ...
... Therefore, EIA of offshore wind structures is inevitable. Hitherto, different studies have been published on the effect of OWFs on marine ecosystems (Kaldellis and Zafirakis, 2011;Kaldellis et al., 2016;Leung and Yang, 2012a;Arvesen and Hertwich, 2012;Kirchgeorg et al., 2018;Hall et al., 2022;Willsteed et al., 2018b;Abramic et al., 2022;Hernandez C et al., 2021;Amponsah et al., 2014;Cook et al., 2018a;Medina-Lopez et al., 2021;Hooper et al., 2017;Ren et al., 2021). However, most of the discussed impacts by previous studies are focused on the potential environmental impacts of OWFs, as required by EIA, and not the validated impacts through observations. ...
Renewable energy sectors have been rapidly growing over the last three decades due to the environmental concerns regarding fossil fuels and increasing demand of energy by human. Among those, offshore wind farms are one of the most attractive and promising technologies for clean energy production due to the strong and
steady offshore winds, less turbine fatigue, less visual and space limitations compared to onshore wind farms. Rapid development of offshore wind farms, which is expected to reach 70% by 2030, can effect on marine ecosystems and organisms. Hitherto, different studies have comprehensively discussed the potential impacts of
offshore wind farms on marine habitats; however, they are just potential and rarely validated through observations. This review focuses on the proved environmental impacts of offshore wind farms gained from post-construction environmental monitoring programs. Particularly, this study provides significant insights on: 1)
the area and time span over which biological effects may occur, 2) responses to disturbance by different target organisms; 3) quantification of short/long-term effects; 4) recovery from impacts in the long term. The monitoring studies showed little or only local impacts of offshore wind farms on the marine environment, either
during their construction or the operational phases. However, further research is needed to answer whether synergies of little and local impacts may determine consequences at the population level. As the number and size of offshore wind farms increase it is necessary to consider consequences at the population level as well as cumulative impacts of these activities on marine ecosystems.
The article is available at the link:
https://authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S0964-5691(23)00297-1
... Accordingly, the recycling of PV can significantly modify the eco-profile of the system, especially in case environmental credits from the recovery of secondary resources are considered. Also, numerous cradle to grave LCA studies of wind energy systems are investigated in the literature, including the construction (Garcia-Teruel et al., 2022), the O&M (Garcia-Teruel et al., 2022), and the EoL (Andersen et al., 2016;Arvesen and Hertwich, 2012;Chen et al., 2021;Sommer et al., 2020) stages. Particular attention is given to the treatment of the blades of the turbines that are made of composite materials such as glass-and carbon-fibre with epoxy resin (Sommer et al., 2020). ...
... Particular attention is given to the treatment of the blades of the turbines that are made of composite materials such as glass-and carbon-fibre with epoxy resin (Sommer et al., 2020). According to these studies, in case environmental credits are associated to the recovery of secondary resources, the environmental impact mitigation of recycling can be extremely relevant (Arvesen and Hertwich, 2012). A completely different situation is observed for GPPs: very reduced information is available in the literature concerning the EoL of the plant. ...
... However, according to the primary data gathered by Basosi et al. (2020) from the owners of the plants, it is possible to expect that the lifespan of the power plants will reach 30 years in case of proper maintenance. This value is aligned with the possible lifetime achievable by PV (Lim et al., 2022b) wind turbines (Arvesen and Hertwich, 2012), and GPP (Hu et al., 2021). ...
... In this study, credits from the recycling of steel were excluded. Nevertheless, recycling credits have been shown to reduce the GW impact by 40 % for wind power plants [61]. To investigate the effect of recycling credits, the static and the semi-dynamic results for the baseline scenario (S0C) were recalculated considering credits born by the recycling of steel included in the machinery. ...
... The environmental impacts of wind and solar power production have been found to be driven by the materials consumed to manufacture the units [61,[72][73][74][75]. The electricity mix supplying the material production plants has a major effect on the environmental impacts of the wind/solar plant [72]. ...
... Therefore, projecting the electricity mix evolution could have a strong effect on LCA studies investigating wind or solar power plants, especially if multiple equipment replacements are considered. Additionally, the consideration of recycling credits in such studies leads to large impact reductions [61,75],. This study showed that dynamic LCA methods could be useful in accurately estimating recycling credits. ...
Geothermal energy is a renewable energy source with large unexploited potential. Medium enthalpy deep geothermal resources are commonly used in Europe to provide heat. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies on such applications are scarce and their majority follows a static approach. We describe a two-step dynamic LCA framework for deep geothermal heating applications to more accurately estimate their environmental performance. A semi-dynamic approach considers the temporal evolution of the processes and a fully-dynamic approach also applies dynamic impact assessment methods. We investigate a deep geothermal heating plant located in Northern Belgium for which site-specific data are available. Compared to a static LCA, the dynamic methods find a 50–129% higher global warming impact. Analogous differences are found for eleven other impacts. Regardless, the global warming impact remains lower than for natural gas heating. Large impact variations are also observed when the average European electricity mix is considered to supply the plant, indicating that LCA studies on pumped geothermal heating plants that neglect the time parameter could be largely misestimating the impacts. The dynamic LCA also calculates the impact evolution through time. We find that the continuation of the plant operation after a time period might not lead to considerable impact reduction. Such information is hidden in a static approach and could be used for the optimization of geothermal development strategies. Dynamic methods also facilitate the design of targeted impact mitigation strategies and the comparison between alternative heating systems. We recommend the application of dynamic LCA on other types of geothermal energy plants and other energy-related applications.
... However, all the data introduced to modelling is based on assumptions rather than collected from the actual site (Demir and Taskin 2013). Although there are literature involving the environmental impacts of wind farms (Garrett and Rønde 2013;Rashedi et al. 2013;Uddin and Kumar 2014;Vargas et al. 2015) through LCA methodology as well as comprehensive reviews of LCA of wind energy (Arvesen and Hertwich 2012;Davidsson et al. 2012), it is a well-known fact that obtaining reliable results depends on the usage of site-specific data. As Arvesen and Hertwich (2012) advice, it is important to conduct LCA research on wind farms in regions other than Europe. ...
... Although there are literature involving the environmental impacts of wind farms (Garrett and Rønde 2013;Rashedi et al. 2013;Uddin and Kumar 2014;Vargas et al. 2015) through LCA methodology as well as comprehensive reviews of LCA of wind energy (Arvesen and Hertwich 2012;Davidsson et al. 2012), it is a well-known fact that obtaining reliable results depends on the usage of site-specific data. As Arvesen and Hertwich (2012) advice, it is important to conduct LCA research on wind farms in regions other than Europe. There are various studies on wind power plants located in non-European geographies. ...
... On top of case specific transportation issues involved in every LCA study, the results obtained on LCA of wind energy vary according to many other additional features including location, capacity factor, lifetime, power of the turbine, recycling ratios, modelling choices etc. However in this section, the results of this study were compared with similar studies specific to Turkey and findings of the review studies. Arvesen and Hertwich (2012) conducted an extensive literature review on LCA of energy generation from wind power by investigating 44 cases. The mentioned literature states the mean of greenhouse gas emissions for the examined onshore wind farms are in the range of 20(± 14) gCO 2 e/ kWh. ...
The aim of this study is to investigate the environmental impacts of a full-scale wind farm using life cycle assessment methodology. The facility in question is an onshore wind farm located in Turkey with a total installed capacity of 47.5 MW consisting of 2.5 MW Nordex wind turbines. Hub height and rotor diameter of the wind turbines are 100 m. The system boundary is defined as material extraction, part production, construction, operation and maintenance and decommissioning phases of the wind farm. The functional unit is 1-kWh electricity produced. Environmental impacts are mainly generated by manufacturing and installation operations. Steel sheet usage in tower manufacturing is the main contributor to abiotic depletion of fossil resources, acidification, eutrophication, global warming and marine aquatic ecotoxicity potentials. Apart from ozone layer depletion, end-of-life phase decreases the environmental impacts due to metal recycling. Metal recycling ratio scenario results show that when the recycling ratio decreases from 90 to 20%; increases of 110%, 102%, 92% and 87% are observed in acidification, terrestrial ecotoxicity, marine aquatic ecotoxicity and global warming potentials, respectively. In the baseline, the main parts which are manufactured in Germany are transported by sea to Turkey. Transportation scenario involves shifting the manufacturing of main parts to Turkey then transporting these parts by trucks to the farm. This conversion causes increases of 31%, 35% and 27% in abiotic depletion of fossil resources, freshwater aquatic ecotoxicity and global warming potentials, respectively, while causing decreases of 11% and 4% in acidification and eutrophication potentials generated by transportation activities, respectively.
... Finally, a seawater desalination plant was designed to supply freshwater for electrolysis using a unique combination of high-and low-rejection seawater reverse osmosis desalination membranes in combination with a mechanical vapor compression (MVC) that allows zero-liquid discharge desalination. The carbon footprint was estimated by adjusting previously reported Life Cycle Analyses (LCAs) for SOFC and SOFC maintenance [41], windmill based green ammonia [42,43], wind powered P2A2P SOFC systems [44], and the carbon footprint of windmills [45], to fit the system herein described. The carbon footprint was subdivided in three contributions, these are Power to Ammonia, Ammonia to Power, and direct windmill to power carbon footprints. ...
... The total carbon footprint of P2A2P is assumed to be 0.272 kg CO 2 /kWh. Direct wind power averages a carbon footprint of 0.019 kg CO 2 /kWh [45]. The carbon footprint of direct wind power and P2A2P storage combined, averages to ca. 0.03 kg CO 2 /kWh, see figure S5 in the SI. ...
Small Island Developing States (SIDS) have a high dependency on fossil fuels for energy, water, and food production. This has negative implications on the carbon footprint and resilience of the SIDS. Wind power is one of the most promising options for renewable energy in the coastal areas of the SIDS. To account for the seasonal intermittent nature of wind energy, ammonia can be used for energy storage. In this paper, ammonia as an energy vector, is examined to reduce the costs and carbon footprint of energy on the island of Curaçao as a showcase for Caribbean SIDS. The levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for the combined wind and ammonia energy storage system is 0.13 USD/kWh at a discount rate of 5%. This is cost competitive with the LCOE of 0.15–0.17 USD/kWh from heavy fuel oil, which is the main electricity source in the Caribbean SIDS. In Curaçao, the LCOE from LNG and coal without carbon capture and storage (CCS) is 0.07–0.10 USD/kWh and 0.09–0.14 USD/kWh, respectively. When CCS is applied, the LCOE from LNG and coal is 0.10–0.13 USD/kWh and 0.14–0.21 USD/kWh, respectively. This suggests that the LCOE of the combined wind and ammonia energy storage system can be competitive with fossil-based alternatives with carbon capture and storage (CCS) in a decarbonized energy landscape. The CO2-footprint of the combined wind energy and ammonia energy storage system is 0.03 kg CO2/kWh, compared to 0.04 kg CO2/kWh and 0.12 kg CO2/kWh for LNG-/coal-based energy generation with CCS, respectively.
... The CED method integrated in SimaPro 8.0.3.14 software accounts for seven different categories, namely, fossil, nuclear, biomass, wind, solar, geothermal, and hydro. The calculated CED value in our study is 0.393 MJ, which is within the range of mean CED values from the literature (0.007 MJ to 0.425 MJ) for onshore wind turbines obtained by Arvesen and Hertwich (2012). Kubiszewski et al. (2010) used the value of CED to calculate energy return on investment (EROI) that presents energy performance as the ratio of energy generated and energy required to generate that energy using Eq. 1 (Centre for Sustainable Energy 2017): ...
Purpose The overall aim of this study is to contribute to the creation of LCA database on electricity generation systems in Ethiopia. This study specifically estimates the environmental impacts associated with wind power systems supplying high voltage electricity to the national grid. The study has regional significance as the Ethiopian electric system is already supplying electricity to Sudan and Djibouti and envisioned to supply to other countries in the region. Materials and methods Three different grid-connected wind power systems consisting of four different models of wind turbines with power rates between 1 and 1.67 MW were analyzed for the situation in Ethiopia. The assessment takes into account all the life cycle stages of the total system, cradle to grave, considering all the processes related to the wind farms: raw material acquisition, manufacturing of main components, transporting to the wind farm, construction, operation and maintenance, and the final dismantling and waste treatment. The study has been developed in line with the main principles of the ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 standard procedures. The analysis is done using SimaPro software 8.0.3.14 multiuser , Ecoinvent database version 3.01, and ReCiPe 2008 impact assessment method. The assumed operational lifetime as a baseline is 20 years. Results and discussion The average midpoint environmental impact of Ethiopian wind power system per kWh electricity generated is for climate change: 33.6 g CO 2 eq., fossil depletion: 8 g oil eq., freshwater ecotoxicity: 0.023 g 1,4-DCB eq., freshwater eutrophication: 0.005 g N eq., human toxicity: 9.9 g 1,4-DCB eq., metal depletion: 18.7 g Fe eq., marine eco-toxicity: 0.098 g 1,4-DCB eq., particulate matter formation: 0.097 g PM10 eq., photochemical oxidant formation: 0.144 g NMVOC, and terrestrial acidification: 0.21 g SO 2 eq. The pre-operation phase that includes the upstream life cycle stage is the largest contributor to all the environmental impacts, with shares ranging between 82 and 96%. The values of cumulative energy demand (CED) and energy return on investment (EROI) for the wind power system are 0.393 MJ and 9.2, respectively. Conclusion The pre-operation phase is the largest contributor to all the environmental impact categories. The sensitivity and scenario analyzes indicate that changes in wind turbine lifespans, capacity factors, exchange rates for parts, transport routes, and treatment activities would result in significant changes in the LCA results.
... For waste incineration and biogas production, life-cycle direct emissions are included, but not the fact that methane emissions from landfill gas generation are avoided if waste is not landfilled. Figure 12: Summary of GHG emissions from electricity generation (CCS=carbon capture and storage) (Arvesen and Hertwich 2012;Asdrubali et al. 2015;Bruckenr et al. 2014;Ecoinvent 2019;Hertwich et al. 2015;Spath et al. 1999;Sphera 2021;UNECE 2021;Van Der Giesen et al. 2017;Whitaker et al. 2012;Ovaskainen 2017) Different forms of electricity generation have different health impacts ( Figure 12). The production of fuels used in power plants causes health impacts, for example in mines. ...
Finland is committed to aim for a carbon-neutral energy system by 2023. The transition is in
progress with increasing shares of various forms of low-carbon production and significant
reductions in the share of energy production from coal and natural gas, for example. Finland
has traditionally been strong in the use of renewable energy thanks to wood-based fuels
availability. However, a significant part of the energy is still produced from fossil fuels in
Finland.
The energy system has been in constant evolution throughout history. Recently, climate change
mitigation has made carbon neutrality the single biggest goal in energy system development,
which has a major impact on current decision-making. In addition to carbon neutrality, the
change must consider two other particularly important and ongoing societal objectives such as
security of supply and service of the energy system, and cost-effectiveness.
The future energy system will be affected by many expectations and parallel developments.
These include the arrival of new energy sources on the market and their integration into the
system, the progress of electrification, the development of energy technologies and changes in
cost-efficiency, the growing importance of energy storage, the carbon capture development,
and plans for the hydrogen economy. There are numerous possible directions for development,
and they are not mutually exclusive. However, it creates science-based, urgent information
needs and challenges for energy system decision-making. As decisions have to be taken that
simultaneously create the conditions for the achievement of several objectives, partly crossimpacting
each other.
This report offers a clear and comprehensive overview of energy system status in Finland
including the main trends. The report provides basic general information of the different types
of energy production, energy storage, energy efficiency and savings as well as the entire energy
system, including system integration. In addition, the aim is to present basic information of the
different types of energy production, the current state of the energy system and future trends.
The report is intended for all those who are interested in the trends in the energy system and
aims to present relatively complex entities in an understandable way and to provide an
overview of the factors involved in the development of the energy system. The report has been
written by 19 experts in their field from the Faculty of Energy Systems at LUT University.
The report starts with a summary of the views of public organisations on future trends and
scenarios for energy systems. The most relevant of these are the views and scenario calculations
of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the EU, the Nordic Council of
Ministers' organisation called Nordic Energy Research (NER) and the Finnish Climate and
Energy Strategy. The views contain the same basic elements related to energy systems and also
partly contain many different future scenarios. For example, the evaluation models reviewed
by the IPCC include more than 2 500 scenarios.
The report presents basic information on the technologies and characteristics of all the main
energy production methods in Finland, considering the sustainability of the production method
and the different needs of society. In addition, reports covers topics such as energy system
integration costs, hydrogen economy, carbon capture and utilisation, energy storage and
carriers, energy efficiency, energy savings and consumption flexibility. The intention is to
provide the reader as comprehensive a basic understanding as possible of the main technologies
of the energy system and the most important elements of its development.
Besides presenting the different forms of energy production and the main technologies, the
report also considers the energy system as a whole and the various priorities for the future. The
current state of the energy system is examined in particular for electricity and heat and also
briefly for industry and transport. The report also is discussed the significance and role of the
three main energy sources in the development of the national energy system. In Finland, the
main energy sources for the energy system development are variable renewable energy, nuclear
power and biomass. In addition, the report provides information on important elements of
system integration, such as sector integration, system infrastructure, the functioning of the
energy market and system-level investments, and export opportunities related to carbon
neutrality expertise in Finland.
The main issues of the energy system development are currently related to variable renewable
energy, especially wind power in Finland. It plays an important role in transforming energy
consumption in many sectors towards carbon neutrality and will grow significantly in the
coming years. As the wind dependent and variable production share increases, ensuring
operational reliability will require significant structural changes and system development to
maintain a balance between production and consumption under all conditions. The main tools
to achieve these purposes include energy storage in different time periods, weatherindependent
and controllable forms of energy production, power reserves, consumption
flexibility and integration between different sectors. This report aims to provide the basic
information needed to understand the whole picture and its various components.
Keywords: Finland, Carbon neutrality, Energy, Renewable energy, energy future
... In the LCA literature, onshore wind power has been extensively covered, as highlighted in the reviews by Arvesen and Hertwich (2012) and Nugent and Sovacool (2014), which analysed about 30 and 20 LCA studies on onshore wind finding a range of potential global warming of 6-34 g CO 2eq /kWh and 0.4-364.8 g CO 2eq /kWh, respectively. ...
... Most of these studies employed a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach [43] in order to quantify the sustainability of wind turbine systems from a life cycle perspective, i.e. from the extraction of raw materials and their manufacturing stage to the end of their operational life and final disposal. General aspects associated with the end-of-life treatment of wind turbines, however, are still not very clear, inconsistent, or nontransparent [44]. Recently, Mello et al. [45] carried out a thorough review concerning the life cycle impacts of wind turbine systems. ...
An integrated LCA + DEA methodology is applied to evaluate different end-of-life treatment alternatives for wind turbine decommissioning. • Circular economy-driven policy-making scenarios are suggested to enable improvements towards a more sustainable waste management. • Waste management of wind turbine blade composites is the most significant contributor to GHG emissions and non-renewable energy consumption. • The efficiency of thermal recycling processes is a key element for the transition to a circular economy framework. • Remanufacturing, repurposing or waste prevention of wind turbine blades via design-for-recycling is crucial for sustainable waste management. • Financial incentives could offset the price handicap of chemical recycling relative to cost-efficient landfill disposal practices. A R T I C L E I N F O Keywords: End-of-life options Wind turbine decommissioning Data envelopment analysis Life cycle assessment A B S T R A C T The purpose of this paper is to present an integrated joint application of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) in order to evaluate the efficiency of different end-of-life treatment options for wind turbine decommissioning, considering, technological, economic, and environmental aspects in a circular economy context. Eleven scenarios have been configurated concerning the material waste management of a representative type of wind turbine operating in Greece. Mechanical recycling, landfill disposal and advanced thermal recycling technologies, such as conventional or microwave pyrolysis are addressed. The proposed approach does not only evaluate the efficiency of each one of the different end-of-life treatment processes relative to one another, but it also suggests circular economy-driven policy-making scenarios towards more sustainable waste management in the country. Real-world data calculations indicate that improving the performance of the energy-intensive thermal recycling process could maximize the environmental benefits. А circular zero-waste approach based on remanufacturing, repurposing or waste prevention through design-for-recycling of wind turbine blades, could also favor long-term sustainability.
... Generally, LCA methods consist of process-based LCA, IO-LCA and Hybrid LCA, the advantages and shortcomings of which has been extensively discussed [37], which are beyond the scope of this study. Due to much data efficiency and well-defined frameworks by ISO 14040/44, the bottom-up process-based LCA method prevails in assessment of renewable energy technologies. ...
Presented in this study is a comparative life cycle assessment of 60 wind plant systems’ GHG intensities (49 of onshore and 11 of offshore) in China with regard to different geographical location, turbine technology and management level. As expected, geographical location and turbine technology affect the results marginally. The result shows that the life-cycle GHG intensities of onshore and offshore cases are 5.84–16.71 g CO2eq/kWh and 13.30–29.45 g CO2eq/kWh, respectively, which could be decreased by 36.41% and 41.30% when recycling materials are considered. With wind power density increasing, the GHG intensities of onshore cases tend to decline, but for offshore cases, the larger GHG intensity is as the offshore distance increases. The GHG intensities of onshore cases present a decreasing trend along with the technical advancement, and offshore counterparts is around 65% higher than the onshore cases in terms of wind turbines rated at more than 3 MW. The enlarging of offshore turbine size does not necessarily bring marginal benefit as onshore counterparts due to the increasing cost from construction and maintenance. After changing the functional unit to 1 kWh on-grid electricity (practical), the highest GHG intensities of Gansu province increase to 17.94 g CO2eq/kWh, same as other wind resource rich provinces, which significantly offsets their wind resource endowment. The results obtained in this study also highlight the necessity for policy interventions in China to enhance resource exploration efficiency and promote robust and sustainable development of the wind power industry.
... LCA is a well-established and widely used tool that assesses the energy consumption, emissions, and environmental impacts of products, processes, and services throughout the life cycle stages (Laso et al., 2018;Pehnt, 2006). Even though there are many studies applying LCA methodology to the wind industry and wind turbines, general aspects associated with end-of-life are still not clear, inconsistent, or nontransparent (Arvesen and Hertwich, 2012). Specifically, a review of 44 studies of wind power, concluded that the EoL phase is partially explored as most of the LCAs neglect the possibilities for recycling the components or even omitted in the LCAs, and therefore the associated environmental impacts are not fully considered (Mello et al., 2022). ...
A top priority for most countries and major organizations is to focus on actions to align with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established by the United Nations in 2015. Today, the installed capacity of wind generation is steadily growing worldwide, while 34,000 wind turbines are 15 years or older. Furthermore, the number of decommissioned wind turbines is expected to increase significantly in the coming years. In this context, the evaluation of the waste management processes for wind turbine decommissioning in terms of sustainability is imperative. Wind turbine decommissioning options have to comply with SDGs linked to the safe disposal and/or recycling of energy production systems. This study aims to develop an indicator-oriented framework to evaluate the environmental, economic, and social impacts generated by different decommissioning scenarios of a wind turbine system to ensure it complies with these goals. Initially, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is performed to generate values for indicators that are related to each decommissioning scenario. Next, those indicators that are directly related to selected SDGs are identified. The proposed methodology applies Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to assess the efficiency of alternative wind turbine decommissioning scenarios based on selected criteria. These criteria are directly related to the previously identified indicators satisfying specific SDGs. Alternative decommissioning scenarios are benchmarked using different sustainability criteria/indicators as DEA inputs/outputs and utilized to determine best practice-based decision-making strategies. The joint application of LCA and DEA could represent a methodological framework for sustainability assessment and benchmark definition of waste management alternatives.
... This is applied the same on the wind energy source, whose significant economic and ecological constraints oppose the advantages and progress recorded for the latter. The life cycle of a wind farm from its manufacture to its disposal; according to environmentalists provides an equivalent of considerable CO 2 emissions in terms of climate change (Bhandari et al. 2020;Arvesen and Hertwich 2012;Tahtah et al. 2021). Similarly, these phases result in an equivalent of significant financial expenditure compared to the latter's production of electrical energy (Puglia et al. 2014). ...
The development and wide spread of wind farms as a favorite and promising source of electrical energy in the world imposes its balanced compatibility with a set of economic, technical and environmental constraints. Manufacturing, installation, transportation, maintenance, and recycling end-of-life materials all contribute to CO2 emissions and lost expenses throughout the life cycle of a wind farm. These operations are the objective of an optimization work which serves to reduce the effect of these constraints on both the economic and ecological aspects of a wind farm. It has, therefore, become essential and urgent to improve the optimal performance, whether on the economic or environmental level, of these installations. With this in mind, the energy and financial success of any wind farm project is determined by a study to optimize sustainable operating efficiency based on the cost per kWh. In this article, we present a complete study on the life cycle of a wind farm in terms of ecological and economic costs. We studied the contributions of each phase of the life cycle in the economic and ecological costs of the wind farm. The intensities of these costs relative to the kilowatt-hour, produced by this source are evaluated and compared with those produced by conventional sources (gas and oil). The results show that the economic cost and the ecological impact are dependent on each phase of the onshore wind life cycle. Our results are presented for two cases, a real functional case and the case of several proposed scenarios applied to the same operating conditions of the real case. For the real case, the economic cost intensity was 0.029 $/kWh, while the environmental impact intensity was 0.012 kg CO2/kWh. The results also show that the manufacturing phase represents the most important contribution in economic and ecological costs in all scenarios including the real case. The lowest cost intensity and CO2 emission intensity are recorded for the 0.85 MW and 3 MW wind turbine classes, respectively.
... Wind turbine waste materials are treated in three ways: recycling, landfill, and incineration. 31,32 Metals (steel, copper, iron) are recycled, while nonmetallics (glass fiber, epoxy resin, polyester resin, acetone) are landfilled or incinerated. Keeping all other variables constant and assuming that each method's utilization rate is 100%. ...
Wind power generation does not emit greenhouse gases or pollutants, but there are some carbon emissions from the manufacturing, transportation, operation, and waste disposal of wind turbines. Directly‐driven permanent magnet and doubly‐fed asynchronous wind turbines currently have the largest market share in China, but few Chinese studies have compared their differences in carbon reduction potential. This paper uses life cycle assessment (LCA) to quantitatively analyze the full life cycle carbon emissions of the two wind turbines to determine which type of wind turbine has greater carbon reduction potential, obtaining the following results. The full life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of 2.5‐MW directly driven permanent magnet and doubly‐fed asynchronous wind turbines are 8.48 and 10.43 gCO2/kWh, respectively. The direct‐driven permanent magnet wind turbine is superior in terms of carbon reduction. ② The stage with the greatest impact and the greatest difference between the two wind turbines in the full life cycle is the production stage, during which the carbon emissions of the directly driven permanent magnet and doubly‐fed asynchronous wind turbines are 1.045×106 and 1.210×106 kg, respectively. ③ According to sensitivity analysis, proper waste disposal and transportation can reduce carbon emissions from wind turbines. These research findings can be used to help achieve carbon peaking and neutrality goals, as well as the technological development of wind power enterprises. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
... As a result, a great inventory build-up of knowledge is available for decisionmakers. This would reduce efforts and improve the analysis of LCA [192]. ...
Moving towards RER has become imperative to achieve sustainable development goals (SDG). Renewable energy resources (RER) are characterized by uncertainty whereas, most of them are unpredictable and variable according to climatic conditions. This paper focuses on RER-based electrical power plants as a base to achieve two different goals, SDG7 (obtaining reasonably priced clean energy) and SDG13 (reducing climate change). These goals in turn would support other environmental, social, and economic SDG. This study is constructed based on two pillars which are technological developments and life cycle assessment (LCA) for wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal power plants. To support the study and achieve the main point, many essential topics are presented in brief such as fossil fuels’ environmental impact, economic sustainability linkage to RER, the current contribution of RER in energy consumption worldwide and barriers and environmental effects of RER under consideration. As a result, solar and wind energy lead the RER electricity market with major contributions of 27.7% and 26.92%, respectively, biomass and geothermal are still of negligible contributions at 4.68% and 0.5%, respectively, offshore HAWT dominated other WT techniques, silicon-based PV cells dominated other solar PV technologies with 27% efficiency, combustion thermochemical energy conversion process dominated other biomass energy systems techniques, due to many concerns geothermal energy system is not preferable. Many emerging technologies need to receive more public attention, intensive research, financial support, and governmental facilities including effective policies and data availability.
... where, represents the nominal capacity of the WT in kW. For POF and ET, the data for small WT in Ref. [38] was considered, i.e. 1.72 × 10 −4 kg NO e for POF, 1.60 × 10 −4 kg 1, 4-DBe for TET, and 0.01 kg 1, 4-DBe for FAET. ...
The sizing of microgrids consists of determining the capacity of its main elements, ensuring financial, technical, reliability and environmental criteria. However, regarding the environmental impact, most of the literature addresses this evaluation by exclusively quantifying the emissions in the microgrid operation stage, which tends to underestimate the life cycle ecological cost of the microgrid’s elements. In this sense, this paper proposes a sizing approach that integrates the life cycle assessment of the implementation and operation stages by adapting a multi-objective function inspired by the well-known life cycle assessment methodology called ReCiPe. For this purpose, information from several sources was compiled and adapted to quantify different environmental impacts in the sizing formulation. A case study of a solar/wind/battery/diesel microgrid is presented, showing that calculating the environmental impact indicators considering only emissions in the operation leads to a value 54.60% lower than the proposed approach. It was also found that the underestimation of environmental indicators can lead to a selection of a more polluting microgrid sizing configuration, which remarks the relevance of an adequate environmental evaluation in the sizing procedure.
... According to Lefeuvre et al. [46], a future projection for 2050 in wind energy waste is estimated that there will be around 483,000 tons of carbon fiber reinforced polymer or CFRP in English, with Europe having 190,000 tons, Asia with 149,000 tons, and North America with 95,000 tons. Therefore, scientists, companies in the sector, and leading countries are very concerned about this situation, which has led to a search for different solutions to improve this potential large amount of waste via recycling techniques of both already installed turbines that will be dismantled soon, and those manufactured in future years. ...
Wind turbines obtain clean energy from the wind, however, there is a significant environmental impact due to the use of some of their materials. This article analyzes the manufacturing, life cycle, and dismantling of these machines, to under-stand new opportunities to improve these negative aspects, through the review of various articles. The search was focused on SCOPUS articles, using the word "wind turbine" in titles, abstracts, and keywords, obtaining 68,362 results. Subsequently, these results were filtered only articles, reviews, and research theses, reducing the search to 3,663 results, the search was limited to only 10 years, counting from 2020 to 2010, reaching 2,189 documents. The analysis of 2,189 documents obtained is carried out, reducing the literary base to 185 documents with information on manufacturing processes, life cycle analysis, and advances in some countries in the implementation of improvements in the manufacture of wind turbines, to reduce environmental impact. The use of thermosetting materials in wind turbine blades is a reality that must be modified by the environmental problems that these are causing, new materials for blades must be developed by the principles of the circular economy.
... Several studies conducted using LCA have been conducted, both focused on principles, challenges. and opportunities for LCA applications [13,14,[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] or include life cycle assessment (LCA) applications for existing materials [27,28], building and construction [29][30][31][32][33][34], food [35], transportation [36,37], energy sources among others: bioenergy energy [38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45], solar energy [46][47][48][49], wind energy [50][51][52][53], and geothermal energy [54], and electricity generation [55][56][57]. The advantage of implementing life cycle assessment (LCA) is that it is comprehensive because it can analyze the potential environmental impact on the processes involved in the product life cycle. ...
This study aims to determine the impact on the environment caused by the production of tofu using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method in the tofu processing industry in the South Konawe Regency, Indonesia. The research location was determined purposively. The research subjects were the parties involved in the research, namely processing industry voters, while the object in this study was tofu processing using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method. Data collection was carried out by interview and documentation methods. The results showed that the total greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions from the life cycle of 1 kg of tofu products were 1.4343 kg CO 2-eq. The emission value is due to the input inventory at the transportation stage, the extraction of soybean raw materials, which is the main cause for tofu products producing high emissions compared to other inventory results. The scenario for improvement at the transportation stage is to substitute fuel oil (BBM) with gas fuel (BBG) for truck, pickup , and motorbike transportation. Improvement scenarios at the tofu processing stage, including the utilization of tofu liquid waste biogas, replacing the furnace with a boiler, and reducing electricity consumption for washing soybeans. Through the application of these alternatives will have the potential to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG).
... Waste disposal at wind farms have a minimal contribution to the environmental impact as most materials are recycled nowadays, or the materials will remain at the site (Arvesen and Hertwich, 2012). The end-of-life phase has three possible scenarios. ...
Increasing demand for goods and services is growing with the evident rise in population globally. To cater to the needs for the planet, manufacturing methods that are part of industry should be more sustainable, while giving major importance to the environmental performance of the products. The concern of diminishing resources and raw materials is driving scientists, researchers, governments, and industry stakeholders to adopt new technologies that can outperform traditional methods of manufacturing. Additive manufacturing is one such manufacturing method that is on the cusp of being largely integrated into the industries of today. It is a technique that benefits the three pillars of sustainably, namely the environment, economy, and society. It plays a crucial role in reducing waste by efficient resource consumption and reduced manufacturing waste, reduction of emissions during the life cycle of a product, promoting on-demand and localized manufacturing, and offers a high level of design freedom which can help manufacture complex parts. The renewable energy industry has challenges such as system reliability, energy security, environmental impacts, and reliability of the systems. However, with growing technology, these issues can be addressed, specifically by integrating additive manufacturing into the industry. Wind energy is one of the most promising types of renewable energy and it is growing globally in terms of capacity installed per year, and overall capacity available. AM is increasingly being used in the wind energy industry, but it is still yet to be made fully commercial and functional. The main benefits are repairs and remanufacturing, improved supply chain, and reduced environmental issues. Life cycle assessment is a powerful tool to study the environmental impacts for the life cycle of a product. It helps to identify the various impacts caused to the environment by addressing specific indicators such as global warming potential, depletion of resources, water consumption, etc. Life cycle analysis can be then further used to improve the product by developing them further, strategic developments, marketing opportunities, and better legislation.
The results of the thesis firstly indicate the environmental impacts caused by traditionally manufactured a 2 MW wind turbine during its life cycle. The findings were that the products, recurring, and transport stages contributed significantly to the greenhouse gas emissions. Steel, resins and adhesives, and concrete are the materials that contribute maximum to the emissions. Other significant indicators to the environmental performance for the life cycle of the wind turbine are ozone depletion potential, abiotic resource depletion, water footprint, and particulate matter emissions. For each of these indicators, the product and recurring stages contribute the most to the environmental impact. Secondly, a case study has been identified to use additive manufacturing to manufacture a rotating unit, which is a part of the hydraulic pitch system of a wind turbine. The results showed that significant material savings can be achieved by using AM, which can positively impact the environmental performance. The weight reduction and material savings for the assembly was approximately 44% and 72% respectively, in comparison to traditionally manufactured rotating unit. Finally, the results of the thesis from both experimental parts were analyzed and discussed to illustrate the environmental benefits gained by integrating additive manufacturing for the life cycle of the wind turbine.
... 13,18,58 Replacement-and transportation-relevant fuel consumption (diesel and heavy fuel oil) account for the majority of impacts in O&M (Figure 4 and Table S10). These impacts will likely increase due to the higher failure rates related to turbine size enlarging 65,66 and moving into deeper waters with harsher marine environments. 67 EoL recycling can alleviate raw material requirements and reduce environmental impacts. ...
Continuous reduction in the levelized cost of energy is driving the rapid development of offshore wind energy (OWE). It is thus important to evaluate, from an environmental perspective, the implications of expanding OWE capacity on a global scale. Nevertheless, this assessment must take into account various scenarios for the growth of different OWE technologies in the near future. To evaluate the environmental impacts of future OWE development, this paper conducts a prospective life cycle assessment (LCA) including parameterized supply chains with high technology resolution. Results show that OWE-related environmental impacts, including climate change, marine ecotoxicity, marine eutrophication, and metal depletion, are reduced by ∼20% per MWh from 2020 to 2040 due to various developments including size expansion, lifetime extension, and technology innovation. At the global scale, 2.6-3.6 Gt CO2 equiv of greenhouse gas emissions are emitted cumulatively due to OWE deployment from 2020 to 2040. The manufacturing of primary raw materials, such as steel and fibers, is the dominant contributor to impacts. Overall, 6-9% of the cumulative OWE-related environmental impacts could be reduced by end-of-life (EoL) recycling and the substitution of raw materials.
... Infrastructure related to steel production was the main contributor to the overall GHG emissions. Furthermore, 44 studies analyzed by reference [15], ranging from large to small turbines, concluded an average GWP unite of 19 g CO2eq/kWh. Reference [16] established GHG emissions of 7-10 g CO2eq/kWh, including end-of-life that contributes around 30%. ...
This study compares Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) emissions as CO2 equivalent per one kilowatt-hour of two types of renewable power generation technologies (solar and wind) compared to other traditional power generation technologies through life cycle assessment methods. Related to Global Warming Potential (GWP), the produced quantities of GHGs of each generation method vary through the lifecycle. For wind and solar power, the release of GHGs reached between 70 and 98% during manufacturing (including raw materials) and decommissioning. The recycling stage may play a crucial role in decreasing the impact of GHGs by up to 40%. -Adopting emissions calculated by the Life Cycle Approach (LCA) with electrical generation from solar and wind ways allows a fair comparison per (CO2) eq/ KWh basis and factors affecting each LCA stage. For the two studied systems, wind power emits the least amount of (CO2) eq/ KWh, with average values of 13.91 and 12.7 g CO2eq/kWh for offshore and onshore farms, respectively. While photovoltaic has the highest contribution to GHGs emissions, with a mean value of 23.39 g for CdTe, it is followed by 33.14, 39.93, 43.84,49.33, 50.76 for a-Si, m-Si, CIGs, CIS and sc-Si g (CO2) eq/ KWh, respectively. Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) occupied the medium contribution of 35.6 g for the tower and 30.94 g (CO2) eq/ KWh for the trough. Compared to fossil fuel-fired systems, the average (CO2) eq/ KWh is 936 g for coal-fired, 730 g for oil, and 502 for gas-fired power systems. Replacing one kilowatt-hour of coal or oil-generated electricity with one kilowatt-hour of wind power can save up to 923 or 716 g (CO2) eq/ kWh. © 2022. International Journal of Renewable Energy Research.All Rights Reserved
... Wind power life cycle data has been extracted from various sources, using the same general dataset [55][56][57]. These sources all rely on a detailed system description of wind power turbines, both onshore and offshore. ...
... Another important factor is the product's lifetime. For the wind generator, a 20-year lifetime was considered [40] and for the solar panel a lifetime of 25 years [41]. For the wind generator, 3000 h of power generation per year (34.25%) and for the solar panel 2500 h of power generation per year (28.54%) of a possible total of 8760 h per year were also considered. ...
This work aims to evaluate comparatively the environmental impact of solar photovoltaic and wind power plants. The conceptual design and the initial preliminary design steps in the material selection process were considered. The assessment was made using two different metrics, embodied energy (EE) and carbon footprint (CF). Five different configurations of wind power plants and a set of photovoltaic panels in a power plant were evaluated. In the wind power plants, the generator, the materials, the height, and the tower type were varied. For manufacturing the towers, the following parameters were considered: material, height, and generator power. The photovoltaic power station can provide up to 1.5 MW. The materials selected for embodied energy and carbon footprint assessment followed two criteria: the greatest mass percentage participation and the greatest value of embodied energy and carbon footprint of each material used. For the calculation of distances travelled from suppliers of raw materials and components used in the photovoltaic panels and wind power plants, the considered destination was the city of Viana do Castelo (north of Portugal), one of the regions with tradition in wind power production and installations. The result is favorable to the concrete column, which achieved the best result of EE and CF. The Oebels 1.5 MW tower with an 80-m concrete column showed an EE of 0.0150 kWh/kWh (19.71% a 3.0 MW 120-m concrete column) and a CF of 4.77 gCO2/kWh (21.90% of the Rocha 3.0 MW 120-m concrete column). Comparing the 1.5 MW photovoltaic plant with the concrete column 1.5 MW wind power, the result is favorable to the concrete column. Taking into account that the values of the photovoltaic power plant are EE of 0.0638 kWh/kWh and a CF of 16.21 gCO2/kWh, the concrete column 1.5 MW represents 23.51% of the EE and 29,43% of the CF. This advantage of the concrete towers repeats for the other columns. The results show that the best configuration is the wind power plant with a concrete column. For further studies, a comparison between concrete and truss tower at the same work conditions is suggested.
... In the manufacturing process of epoxy products, large amounts of leftovers and scraps will be produced inevitably. In addition, with the reaching of the product life cycle (e.g., the life of wind turbine blades is generally 20 years [5]), the volume of waste epoxy (WEP) materials increases sharply [6]. Due to the three-dimensional crosslinking network structure, waste epoxy cannot be dissolved and reshaped. ...
Epoxy resin is one of the most popular thermosetting resins and has been widely used in many fields. However, the stable crosslinking structure of waste epoxy (WEP) caused the low value for recycled products which led to a key challenge for epoxy recycling. Here, we successfully prepared a novel epoxy composite with partially de-crosslinked waste epoxy resin (WEP) powder and graphite nanosheet (GNP) through a facile processing strategy. The introduction of partially de-crosslinked WEP powder in epoxy had greatly promoted the construction of an effective three-dimensional GNP network. The maximum thermal conductivity of the composites achieved as high as 10.1 W/mK. The heating and cooling results illustrated the excellent heat transfer ability of the composites. In addition, the prepared composites exhibited an excellent electric conductivity of 3833 S/m and an ultra-high electromagnetic shielding efficiency (SE) of 106.3 dB. This work offered a facile route to prepare functional epoxy composites for thermal management and electromagnetic shielding application and a promising strategy for the upgrade recycling of thermosetting resins.
... Such global burdens are quantified employing Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) [288]. These life-cycle environmental burdens of onshore wind power are well known [272,274] and in general low compared to other technologies with the exception of indicators related to toxicity and metal demand [229,230,275,289]. Sacchi et al. recently identified the main factors driving these environmental burdens from a technological, temporal, and geographical perspective in a very transparent way and concluded that diversity of turbine designs, wind availability, service time and the year of turbine manufacture have a major influence on the environmental performances of wind turbines [275]. ...
The rapid uptake of renewable energy technologies in recent decades has increased the demand of energy researchers, policymakers and energy planners for reliable data on the spatial distribution of their costs and potentials. For onshore wind energy this has resulted in an active research field devoted to analysing these resources for regions, countries or globally. A particular thread of this research attempts to go beyond purely technical or spatial restrictions and determine the realistic, feasible or actual potential for wind energy. Motivated by these developments, this paper reviews methods and assumptions for analysing geographical, technical, economic and, finally, feasible onshore wind potentials. We address each of these potentials in turn, including aspects related to land eligibility criteria, energy meteorology, and technical developments relating to wind turbine characteristics such as power density, specific rotor power and spacing aspects. Economic aspects of potential assessments are central to future deployment and are discussed on a turbine and system level covering levelized costs depending on locations, and the system integration costs which are often overlooked in such analyses. Non-technical approaches include scenicness assessments of the landscape, constraints due to regulation or public opposition, expert and stakeholder workshops, willingness to pay/accept elicitations and socioeconomic cost-benefit studies. For each of these different potential estimations, the state of the art is critically discussed, with an attempt to derive best practice recommendations and highlight avenues for future research.
Los propósitos de este capítulo son los siguientes. En primer lugar abordar algunos detalles del modelo de Solow que, creemos, no han sido suficientemente apreciados por la literatura en cuestión. En segundo, realizar un análisis econométrico utilizando algunas series de tiempo del proyecto KLEMS del INEGI. En tercer lugar, siguiendo paso a paso la metodología utilizada por la SHCP, replicar su estimación del PIB potencial y el ciclo económico, y contrastar ambas variables no directamente observables con nuestros propios ejercicios. En cuarto, evaluar algunas simulaciones de la trayectoria del PIB en volumen y de los requerimientos de capital −y su grado de utilización− según las metas de crecimiento económico a lo largo de la administración del presidente López Obrador y según otros escenarios. Si bien los recientes acontecimientos −entre otros el inicio del proceso de vacunación contra el COVID-19 y la llegada de Biden a la casa blanca− han vuelto a modificar las expectativas, también es correcto afirmar que un gobierno debe actualizar sus políticas para enfrentarlos y que a su cierre será evaluado considerando tanto las políticas implementadas como las omitidas. Nuestro análisis sugiere un efecto de relajamiento sobre las restricciones al crecimiento que se obtendría de la instrumentación de políticas contra-cíclicas y pro-crecimiento ortodoxas, y otras −siguiendo a Solow (1987)− basadas en la adaptación de las tecnologías y en la modificación de la ratio capital-trabajo.
Risks associated with dust hazards are often underappreciated, a gap between the knowledge pool and public awareness that can be costly for impacted communities. This study reviews the emission sources and chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of airborne soil particles (dust) and their effects on human and environmental health and safety in the Pan-American region. American dust originates from both local sources (western United States, northern Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina) and long-range transport from Africa and Asia. Dust properties, as well as the trends and interactions with criteria air pollutants, are summarized. Human exposure to dust is associated with adverse health effects, including asthma, allergies, fungal infections, and premature death. In the Americas, a well-documented and striking effect of soil dust is its association with Coccidioidomycosis, commonly known as Valley fever, an infection caused by inhalation of soil-dwelling fungi unique to this region. Besides human health, dust affects environmental health through nutrients that increase phytoplankton biomass, contaminants that diminish water supply and affect food (crops/fruits/vegetables and ready-to-eat meat), spread crop and marine pathogens, cause Valley fever among domestic and wild animals, transport heavy metals, radionuclides and microplastics, and reduce solar and wind power generation. Dust is also a safety hazard to road transportation and aviation, in the southwestern US where blowing dust is one of the deadliest weather hazards. To mitigate the harmful effects, coordinated regional and international efforts are needed to enhance dust observations and prediction capabilities, soil conservation measures, and Valley fever and other disease surveillance.
While technological characteristics largely determine the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during the construction of a wind farm and meteorological circumstances the actual electricity production, a thorough analysis to quantify the GHG footprint variability (in g CO2eq/kWh electricity produced) between wind farms is still lacking at the global scale. Here, we quantified the GHG footprint of 26,821 wind farms located across the globe, combining turbine‐specific technological parameters, life‐cycle inventory data, and location‐ and temporal‐specific meteorological information. These wind farms represent 79% of the 651 GW global wind capacity installed in 2019. Our results indicate a median GHG footprint for global wind electricity of 10 g CO2eq/kWh, ranging from 4 to 56 g CO2eq/kWh (2.5th and 97.5th percentiles). Differences in the GHG footprint of wind farms are mainly explained by spatial variability in wind speed, followed by whether the wind farm is located onshore or offshore, the turbine diameter and the number of turbines in a wind farm. We also provided a meta‐model based on these four predictors for users to be able to easily obtain a first indication of GHG footprints of new wind farms considered. Our results can be used to compare the GHG footprint of wind farms to one another and to other sources of electricity in a location‐specific manner.
El dilema actual de las autoridades de muchos países es cómo lograr un crecimiento económico acelerado, con un uso eficiente de los recursos energéticos y bajos niveles de contaminación ambiental provocada por las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero. No obstante, en el mundo, las necesidades energéticas y las emisiones contaminantes se dispararon desde la década de 1960. Según datos del Banco Mundial, entre 1971 y 2014 el consumo mundial per cápita de energía creció 44%, mientras que las emisiones mundiales por persona de dióxido de carbono aumentaron 56% entre 1960 y 2013. Por supuesto, la economía mexicana no está exenta de la disyuntiva entre energía y contaminación, dado que de 2020 a 2050 el consumo total de energía crecerá un 40% y las emisiones de CO2 aumentarán al 32% (APEC Secretariat, 2019).
The world consumption of electricity has been increasing exponentially over the years; consequently, there is an increase in atmospheric emissions. In addition, the diversity of electricity generation sources is increasing, and renewable sources are becoming more popular because they are considered renewable energy sources with low atmospheric emissions. This work presents an original contribution from a comprehensive technical review of the current state of the art of the ecological efficiency method and the application of life cycle analysis in electricity generation systems, both renewable and non-renewable. As an original contribution, this article aims, for the first time, to solve the ecological efficiency difficulty in finding values for renewable energy generation systems and thus be able to compare with conventional systems when investigating the influence of life cycle analysis results. The results show that for full load operation, the minimum ecological efficiency was approximately 76.93% for hydro plants, 84.72% for solar PV and 95.10% for wind power. The contributions of this work can make public policy decision-making in the choices of energy generation systems simplifying the understanding of laypeople and experts during the process, making them understand that the consequences of indirect greenhouse gas emissions are as harmful or more than direct emissions, as they are not normally accounted for on plants.
Offshore wind power contributes to the decarbonization of the power system; however, its green development faces many challenges, including environmental impact concerns, scale limitations, and grid parity to go carbon neutral. This study applies life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate the potential environmental impact of China's first high-power prototype windfarm. The environmental impact of the wind farm is more sensitive to steel, copper, and electricity usage. The recycling of waste turbines can be a solution to reduce the environmental impacts of not only the wind farm but also other entities such as metal producers. Overall, this wind farm case can reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by 9.23 MJ and 767.9 g CO2-eq for 1 kWh electricity produced, respectively. Guided by LCA results, green development strategies that include toward the deep sea, promote industrial upgrading and synergy, and advance demonstration projects are discussed in the offshore wind power industry.
Le développement croissant des parcs éoliens sur le territoire français est l'un des leviers majeurs en faveur de l'intégration des énergies renouvelables dans le mixte énergétique national. Cependant, ce dernier se heurte à des problématiques de maintenabilité et des incertitudes sur la durée de vie, d’autant plus que la gestion de fin de vie de ces parcs n’est qu’à ses débuts. Actuellement, peu de travaux traitent de l'évaluation de la performance globale (dont performance technologique et environnementale) de ces systèmes.Ce projet de thèse se propose d'améliorer et de développer des méthodes d'évaluation de la performance technologique (sûreté de fonctionnement) et d’évaluer le gisement de fin de vie de l’éolien dans la région Champagne-Ardenne. Il s'agit, d'une part, de réaliser une étude de sûreté de fonctionnement du système éolien avec un focus sur la fiabilité et la maintenabilité du système en prenant en compte l'interdépendance de ses composants. En effet, cette dernière constitue un levier d'amélioration. D'autre part, l'évaluation de l'impact environnemental de ces installations est nécessaire afin de déterminer des critères de choix technologique et de topologie. Dans ce travail, la MFA et l'ACV comme support à l'écoconception, ont permis de quantifier le gisement en fin de vie, de réduire les impacts environnementaux durant toutes les phases de vie du système et améliorer la durabilité de ce dernier. De plus, des données de la région sont utilisées pour illustrer les résultats et développer des modèles économiques.
Os parques eólicos vêm sendo instalados de forma rápida e continua no Nordeste do Brasil, principalmente no litoral devido a melhor qualidade dos ventos. Muitos impactos socioambientais vêm sendo relatados na literatura científica, com destaque para instalação desses empreendimentos em unidades de conservação. Essa pesquisa buscou compreender o processo de instalação/operação de três parques eólicos em Reserva de Desenvolvimento Sustentável (RDS) situada no litoral do Rio Grande do Norte. A metodologia consistiu na coleta de dados a partir de documentos oficiais e registro de reuniões do conselho gestor, entrevistas com atores locais e pesquisa participante em seminário integrado de comunidades tradicionais sobre os impactos socioambientais dos parques. Verificou-se que o processo de licenciamento ambiental dos três parques eólicos ocorreu sem que houvesse discussão e deliberação favorável do conselho gestor da RDS. Os empreendimentos causaram impactos ambientais e conflitos socioambientais, afetando o meio ambiente e os modos de vida tradicionais. Concluiu-se que na RDSEPT, mesmo com forte governança local, os mecanismos de discussão e deliberação não foram respeitados quando da entrada de empreendimentos eólicos e os impactos socioambientais foram ampliados sob a tutela do órgão licenciador e gestor de unidades de conservação.
In the last decades, the adoption of renewable energy, namely wind source, in Europe, have increased significantly. And it will continue to grow, as part of a strategy to reach the Paris Agreement and the Carbon-neutrality by 2050 goals.
Simultaneously, the oldest wind farms are getting into their end-of-life (EoL) and uncertainties regarding the main aspects of the possible scenarios still remain, such as standards procedures, legislation and environmental impacts (emissions, pollution, etc.). Regarding the waste management, 85% to 90% of all the components of the wind turbine may be recycled, however the final disposal of the blades represents a unique concern, as this process is not completely well-established. Thus, the environmental impacts and relevant aspects related to the wind project flow may be assessed using the life cycle assessment. Moreover, the environmental study of new projects is a good source to identify possible impacts. Thus, this research aims to identify and analyse the main environmental impacts related to the end-of-life of wind farms scenarios, based on the state of the art and a literature review. Moreover, it gives floor to the discussion regarding the uncertainties about this very important stage, the final disposal of wind farms’ components emphasizing d the application of the principles of the circular economy.
As a clean form of energy utilization, wind power is important for alleviating climate change. Although no direct carbon emissions occur in wind power generation, there exist upstream carbon emissions from manufacturing and installation, which have indirect effects on both the locations of wind farms and areas involved in upstream production and manufacturing. In this paper, based on Input–Output based Life Cycle Analysis (IO-LCA), we explored the lifetime carbon emissions of 378 wind farms in China that were still in operation in 2015. The regional distributions of carbon emissions from wind farms during the whole lifetime were depicted. The embodied carbon emission transfers from the location of the wind farm operation to upstream turbine manufacturing regions were traced. The net emission reduction benefits among regions were also calculated. Results show that carbon emissions mainly distribute in Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, and Tianjin in the turbine manufacturing stage, with a total amount of 3.36 MT. Inner Mongolia contributes the largest carbon emissions (5.94 MT) in the farm construction stage. Inner Mongolia has transferred about 0.99 MT carbon emissions to itself and has the largest net emission reduction. Recognizing the carbon emission transfer of wind farms and dividing the carbon emission reduction responsibilities among regions may shed light on supply chain carbon emission reduction and provincial carbon quota allocation.
1. Introducción L a transición energética representa la encrucijada de dos problemas mundiales urgentes de atender que guardan una estrecha relación entre sí: el desarrollo económico y el cambio climático. Encrucijada toda vez que el modelo actual de desarrollo demanda energéticos-en la forma de combustibles fósiles-masivos para mover sus sectores y se convierte en amenaza al medio ambiente en la forma de contaminación, degradación de suelo y escasez hídrica a nivel local y cambio climático a nivel global (Energy Transition Commission [ETC], 2016). Empero ¿a qué se le denomina grandes cantidades de energía? Si se busca una cifra se puede citar 14,035 millones de toneladas equi
Decarbonizing the world economy, before the most damaging effects of climate change become irreversible, requires substantially increasing renewable energy generation in the near future. However, this may be challenging in mature wind energy markets, where many advantageous wind locations are already engaged by older wind farms, potentially generating suboptimal wind harvesting. This research developed a novel method to systematically analyze diverse factors to determine the level of maturity of wind markets and evaluate the adequacy of wind farm repowering at regional and individual levels. The approach was applied to wind markets in the United States (U.S.), in which several states were identified as having diverse levels of maturity. Results obtained from case studies in Texas indicated a consequential number of wind farms that have reached their twenty-year end-of-life term and earlier obsolescence levels. The proposed approach aided in determining wind farms that may benefit from total or partial repowering. The method indicated that total repowering of selected installations would significantly increase overall wind energy generation, considering that these older installations have access to some of the best wind speeds, infrastructure and areas to grow. The proposed method can be applied to different world wind markets.
Feasible and sustainable source of power is a burning question nowadays. The offshore wind farms can be a solution to power generation problem, but it is relatively more expensive. Its installation cost is more than twice of its similar size onshore counterpart. The cost that matters most is the operations and maintenance (O&M) cost. Expensive and sophisticated transfer vehicles as well as highly skilled technicians are needed to conduct O&M activities, which results in a remarkably higher O&M cost for an offshore wind farm project. Few researchers proposed some strategies that could resolve the problem nicely, although there is no universal maintenance strategy, which will fit all the conditions. Optimal maintenance strategy depends on a lot of factors such as cost of energy, level of reliability needed, weather conditions, availability of skilled technicians, availability of crew transfer vehicles, and to mention a few. Total 190 research articles related to offshore maintenance have been reviewed, and some prominent models have been discussed in detail. Some risk and reliability-based models reduced annual maintenance cost by 23%, whereas some other opportunistic maintenance strategy was able to minimize 32% of production loss and transportation cost. Compatibility and usability of different models and results are highlighted. This critical review is aimed at identifying the relevant research outcomes and comparing their critical aspects to provide a good guideline about optimal maintenance strategy to the maintenance managers.
Abstract. The objective of this chapter is to evaluate the efficiency of industrial energy consumption in Mexico by means of stochastic conditional convergence tests for the period from 1965 to 2016. First, we break down consumption in the industrial sector into 16 branches that correspond to petrochemicals of Pemex, steel, chemical, sugar, cement, cellulose and paper, mining, glass, fertilizers, beer and malt, bottled waters, automotive, construction, rubber, tobacco and other branches. Second, we apply the tests for the existence of structural cuts from Perron and Yabu (2009) and Kejriwal and Perron (2010). Once we were able to determine whether the series contained one, two, or no structural breaks, we applied the LM and RALS-LM unit root tests. These detect endogenous structural breaks with changes in trend and non-normal errors to increase their power. The general conclusion of this research is that the energy consumption of the industrial sector in Mexico is inefficient, because we were only able to detect stationarity in the relative per capita consumption in seven of the 16 industrial branches: Pemex petrochemical, Sugar, mining, Automotive, Construction, Rubber and Tobacco.
Resumen. El objetivo de este capítulo consiste en evaluar la eficiencia del consumo de energía industrial en México mediante pruebas de convergencia condicional estocástica para el periodo de 1965 a 2016. En primer lugar, desglosamos el consumo en el sector industrial en 16 ramas que corresponden a petroquímica de Pemex, siderurgia, química, azúcar, cemento, celulosa y papel, minería, vidrio, fertilizantes, cerveza y malta, aguas envasadas, automotriz, construcción, hule, tabaco y otras ramas. En segundo lugar, aplicamos las pruebas de existencia de cortes estructurales de Perron y Yabu (2009) y Kejriwal y Perron (2010). Una vez que pudimos determinar si las series contenían uno, dos o ningún corte estructural, aplicamos las pruebas de raíz unitaria LM y RALS-LM. Éstas detectan cortes estructurales endógenos con cambios en tendencia y errores no normales para aumentar su poder. La conclusión general de esta investigación es que el consumo energético del sector industrial en México es ineficiente, porque solamente pudimos detectar estacionariedad en el consumo relativo per cápita en siete de las 16 ramas industriales: petroquímica de Pemex, Azúcar, minería, Automotriz, Construcción, Hule y Tabaco.
Offshore wind electricity is becoming an important source of renewable energy due to its global warming potential (GWP). However, the GWP can vary significantly, depending on many factors, including the capacity of the installation, distance from the shore, supporting structure and maintenance requirements. Currently, there is a lack of life cycle assessment (LCA) studies that take these specific conditions into account. As a consequence, developers and policy makers rely on average GWP values which could lead to inaccurate estimates of the GWP and other impacts. To address this gap, this paper presents a new model for estimating the life cycle impacts of offshore wind electricity taking into account specific technical characteristics of individual installations and whole wind farms. Aimed at non-experts, the model provided freely with this paper is developed in Excel and follows the ISO 14040/44 LCA methodology. Supported by the built-in background LCA databases, it requires users to specify only a few key characteristics of an existing or proposed installation, thus facilitating quick and yet robust estimations of impacts. Eleven impacts can be considered, including GWP, depletion of resources, human toxicity and eco-toxicities. The application of the model is illustrated by quantifying the LCA impacts of 20 offshore wind farms (OWF) operating in the UK. The results show that the impacts vary considerably with the specific characteristics of OWF, including the age, type and size of wind turbines, their capacity and distance from the shore. For example, the GWP ranges by a factor of three (6.4-19.5 g CO2 eq./kWh) and the other impacts by a factor of 2.2-3.2. The developed model can be used by designers, developers and policy makers to customise the inputs for a specific OWF and estimate the impacts quickly and cost-efficiently, without the need for prior expertise in LCA and extensive data collection.
Blockchain technology enables new paths for supply chain management by serving as a medium of transparent information sharing across organizational bounds. This paper highlights a developing supply chain case in which the goal is to improve the service and maintenance of wind turbines by introducing blockchain-enabled traceability. The increased transparency is intended to facilitate better opportunities for proactive maintenance of the turbines by giving commodity components a unique identification code (QR) and sharing information on said components throughout their lifecycle by appending it to a blockchain solution thereby creating an immutable, tamperproof history. The paper focuses on identifying and analyzing the benefits these technologies enable in terms of economic, social and environmental value (the triple bottom line). The case will first present the current situation in the supply chain service and proceed to evaluate the blockchain-enabled solution.KeywordsBlockchainSupply ChainServiceSustainabilityTraceability
El libro tiene el objetivo de evaluar el impacto del consumo y generación de energía, con las consecuentes emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero, en la actividad económica de México. El libro se compone de dos partes, la primera aborda el tema de energía y crecimiento económico, y la segunda se enfoca en la política energética. El lector encontrará que los especialistas que participan en este libro usan métodos econométricos y análisis de vanguardia con base en los cuales ofrecen lecciones de política energética útiles para los tomadores de decisiones de nuestro país.
Wind energy is characterized as a clean and environmentally friendly technology and this is one of the main benefits that makes it such an attractive and promising energy supply solution. The present chapter deals with the main environmental benefits from the introduction of wind energy in an area as well as the environmental concerns resulting from wind power plants, such as noise, visual impacts and a possible disturbance of the wild life. Methods for reliable impacts assessment, mitigation measures and future trends in the impacts assessment and their mitigation are also being discussed. Lately, many new environmental concerns have arisen—mainly due to the explosive increase in the capacity and the size of the installations—and the need for an integrated Life Cycle approach has emerged, to deal with the complexity and the serious social concerns for new wind developments. Certainly, many new and more elaborated mitigation measures have been developed and the crucial role of the regulatory framework for the most efficient resolution of these serious issues has been revealed.
Energy transitions and decarbonization require rapid changes to a nation’s generation mix. There are a host of possible decarbonization pathways, yet there is vast uncertainty about how different decarbonization pathways will advance or derail the nation’s energy equality goals. We present a framework for investigating how decarbonization pathways, driven by a least cost paradigm, will lead to air pollution inequality across different vulnerabilities (e.g., low-income, energy poverty). If an equitable energy transition is the goal (i.e., one that reaches total equality), using least cost optimization capacity expansion models without strict renewable energy technology mandates will not accomplish this. Thus, it is imperative that decisions regarding national regarding national decarbonization pathways have strict mandates for equality outcomes or be driven by an equality focused paradigm.
Ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all is one of the Sustainable Development Goals. Some countries have therefore invested significantly in wind energy, but emissions, which is a common measure for sustainability in this context, have not fallen significantly. Reductions between 20% and 40% are typical. We therefore test the hypothesis that wind energy reduces emissions compared to using gas turbines when life-cycle emissions are included. The Irish grid is studied due to its record-high wind penetration. The model is based on high resolution grid data covering four years and input from 828 Life-Cycle Assessment cases to allow detailed analysis of demand, supply, life-cycle emissions and their changes due to the increased ramping of gas turbines and increased grid reserves required to maintain grid reliability when wind is deployed. Indirect effects are included to some extent. The model is sampled 10,000 times using Monte Carlo simulations. The results show that emissions are reduced by 10–20%, which supports the hypothesis. However, with an average wind penetration of 34% in 2019, reaching many times the 65% limit for non-synchronous generation set by the system operator to maintain grid reliability, such modest reductions logically imply that achieving an affordable, low-carbon grid using wind together with fossil energy balancing is infeasible with today’s technology, emissions and costs. This key finding is transferable to other grids where wind has large penetration and requires fossil energy balancing. Thus, wind energy is not sustainable when balanced by fossil fuel generators.
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This study compares the environmental impacts of a polycrystalline photovoltaic (PV) module and a wind turbine using the life cycle assessment (LCA) method. This study models landfill disposal and recycling scenarios of the decommissioned PV module and wind turbine, and compares their impacts to those of the other stages in the life cycles. The comparison establishes that the wind turbine has smaller environmental impacts in almost all of the categories assessed. The disposal stage can become a major contributor to the environmental impacts, depending on disposal scenarios. Recycling is an environmentally efficient method, because of its environmental benefits derived from energy savings and resource reclaimed. The end-of-life recycling scenario for a wind turbine has a significant part on the environmental impacts and should not be ignored. However, many factors also influence the degree to which recycling can be beneficial. With the wind turbine recycling scenario, when large quantities of waste are recycled, the potential savings can be quite large, while with the PV module, small quantities of recycled waste mean that the benefits of recycling are not fully reaped.
This paper describes a method for mapping and mitigating the negative environmental impacts of wind turbines and provides an analysis of future removal and recycling processes of offshore wind turbines. The time horizon is up to 2050. The method is process-oriented and interactive with respect to the participation of the actors involved in this area. It recognises the dynamic, uncertain and rapidly changing character of wind energy and deals systematically with the future removal and recycling of wind turbines and future wind turbine technologies. The method combines life cycle assessment and technology foresight methods and integrates the perspectives of the present and the future.
Metallic ore grades are falling globally as the higher grade reserves are exploited first and are progressively depleted. At the same time, the demand for primary metals extracted from these ores is expected to increase, despite increased levels of dematerialisation and recycling. Sustainability concerns have highlighted the need to meet these demands while at the same time minimising resource consumption and environmental emissions. A study was therefore undertaken using life cycle assessment methodology to examine various alternative processing routes for extracting metal from low grade ores (down to 0.1% metal), particularly those of copper and nickel, in terms of their life cycle-based energy consumption (embodied energy) and greenhouse gas emissions. The processing routes examined included conventional concentrating and smelting, direct ore smelting, heap leaching, pressure leaching and in situ leaching. This paper presents the results of this study.
Micro wind energy systems are evaluated in the current article for their potential utilization in urban areas. The techno-economic analysis of such energy systems is undertaken, as well as their life cycle assessment. The energy system consists of wind turbine generator as the main power source, lead-acid batteries as the medium of electricity storage, and other essential devices such as an inverter. Electrical needs for a family living under normal conditions of comfort are modelled and used within simulation of the system performance, with an average daily load of approximately 9.0 kWh. To demonstrate the use of the present model, the system's performance simulations are carried out with typical yearly wind speed data from five different sites in Turkey. The typical years are selected from a total of 6 years data for each site. A life cycle cost analysis is also carried out for a wind energy system with a 25-year life span. The system performance is analysed as a function of various parameters such as wind power density and energy production. The environmental life cycle assessment of the energy system described is also carried out to determine the impact of the energy system under evaluation. It is shown that, with the conservative European average electricity mix, the energy pay back time is 1.4 years and the CO2 pay back time is 0.7 years for the given system. The CO2 emission per kW he generated is 20.5 g.
Microgeneration is being promoted as a means of lowering carbon dioxide (CO ² ) emissions by replacing electricity from the grid with production from small domestic generators. One concern over this drive is that the use of smaller plant could lead to the loss of economies of scale. Partly, this relates to cost but also in terms of energy consumed and CO ² emitted over the life cycle of the microgenerator.
Here, an analysis is presented of a life-cycle audit of the energy use and CO ² emissions for the ‘SWIFT’, a 1.5 kW rooftop-mounted, grid-connected wind turbine. The analysis shows that per kilowatt-hour of electricity generated by the turbine, the energy intensity and CO ² emissions are comparable with larger wind turbines and significantly lower than fossil-fuelled generation. With energy and carbon intensities sensitive to assumed levels of production, assessments were carried out for an annual production range of 1000–4000 kWh, representing capacity factors of 8–31 per cent. For the manufacturer's estimated production of 2000 to 3000 kWh and, giving credit for component recycling, the energy payback period was found to be between 17 and 25 months, whereas the CO ² payback was between 13 and 20 months. Across the full production range, the energy and carbon payback periods were 13–50 months and 10–39 months, respectively.
A key outcome of the study is to inform the manufacturer of the opportunities for improving the energy and carbon intensities of the turbine. A simple example is presented showing the impact of replacing one of the larger aluminium components with alternative materials.
The Chinese government has made an important effort to diversify the country’s energy mix and exploit different sources of renewable energy. Although China’s installed wind power capacity has experienced a dramatic expansion over the past five years, electricity generation from wind power has not increased as expected. This paper aims to present the current status of wind generation in China and analyze the causes of the large discrepancy between installed capacity and generation. We find that this is mainly caused by the inadequacy of the power transmission grid, the absence of economic incentives to transmission and backup generation providers, and the lack of a generation-based renewable portfolio standard.
Electric generation by wind turbine is growing very strongly. However, the environmental impact of wind energy is still a matter of controversy. This paper uses Life Cycle Assessment, comparing two systems: a 4.5MW and a 250W wind turbines, to evaluate their environmental impact. All stages of life cycle (manufacturing, transports, installation, maintenance, disassembly and disposal) have been analysed and sensitivity tests have been performed. According to the indexes (PEPBT (primary energy pay back time), CO2 emissions, etc.), the results show that wind energy is an excellent environmental solution provided first, the turbines are high efficiency ones and implemented on sites where the wind resource is good, second, components transportation should not spend too much energy and, third, recycling during decommissioning should be performed correctly. This study proves that wind energy should become one of the best ways to mitigate climate change and to provide electricity in rural zones not connected to the grid.
Background, aim and scope Renewable energy sources nowadays constitute an increasingly important issue in our society, basically because of the need
for alternative sources of energy to fossil fuels that are free of CO2 emissions and pollution and also because of other problems such as the diminution of the reserves of these fossil fuels,
their increasing prices and the economic dependence of non-producers countries on those that produce fossil fuels. One of
the renewable energy sources that has experienced a bigger growth over the last years is wind power, with the introduction
of new wind farms all over the world and the new advances in wind power technology. Wind power produces electrical energy
from the kinetic energy of the wind without producing any pollution or emissions during the conversion process. Although wind
power does not produce pollution or emissions during operation, it should be considered that there is an environmental impact
due to the manufacturing process of the wind turbine and the disposal process at the end of the wind turbine life cycle, and
this environmental impact should be quantified in order to compare the effects of the production of energy and to analyse
the possibilities of improvement of the process from that point of view. Thus, the aim of this study is to analyse the environmental
impact of wind energy technology, considering the whole life cycle of the wind power system, by means of the application of
the ISO 14040 standard [ISO (1998) ISO 14040. Environmental management—life cycle assessment—principles and framework. International Standard Organization,
Geneva, Switzerland], which allows quantification of the overall impact of a wind turbine and each of its component parts
using a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study.
Materials and methods The procedures, details, and results obtained are based on the application of the existing international standards of LCA.
In addition, environmental details and indications of materials and energy consumption provided by the various companies related
to the production of the component parts are certified by the application of the environmental management system ISO 14001
[ISO (2004) ISO 14001 Environmental management systems—requirements with guidance for use. International Standard Organization, Geneva,
Switzerland]. A wind turbine is analysed during all the phases of its life cycle, from cradle to grave, by applying this methodology,
taking into account all the processes related to the wind turbine: the production of its main components (through the incorporation
of cut-off criteria), the transport to the wind farm, the subsequent installation, the start-up, the maintenance and the final
dismantling and stripping down into waste materials and their treatment. The study has been developed in accordance with the
ISO 14044 standard [ISO (2006) ISO 14044: Environmental management—life cycle assessment—requirements and guidelines. International Standard Organization,
Geneva, Switzerland] currently in force.
Results The application of LCA, according to the corresponding international standards, has made it possible to determine and quantify
the environmental impact associated with a wind turbine. On the basis of this data, the final environmental effect of the
wind turbine after a lifespan of 20 years and its subsequent decommissioning have been studied. The environmental advantages
of the generation of electricity using wind energy, that is, the reduction in emissions and contamination due to the use of
a clean energy source, have also been evaluated.
Discussion This study concludes that the environmental pollution resulting from all the phases of the wind turbine (manufacture, start-up,
use, and dismantling) during the whole of its lifetime is recovered in less than 1 year.
Conclusions From the developed LCA model, the important levels of contamination of certain materials can be obtained, for instance, the
prepreg (a composite made by a mixture of epoxy resin and fibreglass). Furthermore, it has been concluded that it is possible
to reduce the environmental effects of manufacturing and recycling processes of wind turbines and their components.
Recommendations and perspectives In order to achieve this goal in a fast and effective way, it is essential to enlist the cooperation of the different manufacturers.
We investigate the potential environmental impacts of a large-scale adoption of wind power to meet up to 22% of the world’s growing electricity demand. The analysis builds on life cycle assessments of generic onshore and offshore wind farms, meant to represent average conditions for global deployment of wind power. We scale unit-based findings to estimate aggregated emissions of building, operating and decommissioning wind farms toward 2050, taking into account changes in the electricity mix in manufacturing. The energy scenarios investigated are the International Energy Agency’s BLUE scenarios. We estimate 1.7–2.6 Gt CO2-eq climate change, 2.1–3.2 Mt N-eq marine eutrophication, 9.2–14 Mt NMVOC photochemical oxidant formation, and 9.5–15 Mt SO2-eq terrestrial acidification impact category indicators due to global wind power in 2007–50. Assuming lifetimes 5 yr longer than reference, the total climate change indicator values are reduced by 8%. In the BLUE Map scenario, construction of new capacity contributes 64%, and repowering of existing capacity 38%, to total cumulative greenhouse gas emissions. The total emissions of wind electricity range between 4% and 14% of the direct emissions of the replaced fossil-fueled power plants. For all impact categories, the indirect emissions of displaced fossil power are larger than the total emissions caused by wind power.
Goal, Scope and Background This paper describes the modelling of two emerging electricity systems based on renewable energy: photovoltaic (PV) and wind power. The paper shows the approach used in the ecoinvent database for multi-output processes.Methods Twelve different, grid-connected photovoltaic systems were studied for the situation in Switzerland. They are manufactured as panels or laminates, from mono- or polycrystalline silicon, installed on facades, slanted or flat roofs, and have a 3kWp capacity. The process data include quartz reduction, silicon purification, wafer, panel and laminate production, supporting structure and dismantling. The assumed operational lifetime is 30 years. Country-specific electricity mixes have been considered in the LCI in order to reflect the present situation for individual production stages.
The assessment of wind power includes four different wind turbines with power rates between 30 kW and 800 kW operating in Switzerland and two wind turbines assumed representative for European conditions 800 kW onshore and 2 MW offshore. The inventory takes into account the construction of the plants including the connection to the electric grid and the actual wind conditions at each site in Switzerland. Average European capacity factors have been assumed for the European plants. Eventually necessary backup electricity systems are not included in the analysis.Results and Discussion The life cycle inventory analysis for photovoltaic power shows that each production stage may be important for specific elementary flows. A life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) shows that there are important environmental impacts not directly related to the energy use (e.g. process emissions of NOx from wafer etching). The assumption for the used supply energy mixes is important for the overall LCIA results of different production stages. The allocation of the inventory for silicon purification to different products is discussed here to illustrate how allocation has been implemented in ecoinvent.
Material consumption for the main parts of the wind turbines gives the dominant contributions to the cumulative results for electricity production. The complex installation of offshore turbines, with high requirements of concrete for the foundation and the assumption of a shorter lifetime compared to onshore foundations, compensate the advantage of increased offshore wind speeds.Conclusion The life cycle inventories for photovoltaic power plants are representative for newly constructed plants and for the average photovoltaic mix in Switzerland in the year 2000. A scenario for a future technology helps to assess the relative influence of technology improvements for some processes in the near future (2005-2010). The differences for environmental burdens of wind power basically depend upon the capacity factor of the plants, the lifetime of the infrastructure, and the rated power. The higher these factors, the more reduced the environmental burdens are. Thus, both systems are quite dependent on meteorological conditions and the materials used for the infrastructure.Recommendation and Perspective Many production processes for photovoltaic power are still under development. Future updates of the LCI should verify the energy uses and emissions with available data from industrial processes in operation. For the modelling of a specific power plant or power plant mixes outside of Switzerland, one has to consider the annual yield (kWh/kWp) and if possible also the size of the plant. Considering the steady growth of the size of wind turbines in Europe, the development of new designs, and the exploitation of offshore location with deeper waters than analysed in this study, the inventory for wind power plants may need to be updated in the future.
Concentrated solar power (CSP) plants are one of several renewable energy technologies with significant potential to meet a part of future energy demand. An integrated technology assessment shows that CSP plants could play a promising role in Africa and Europe, helping to reach ambitious climate protection goals. Based on the analysis of driving forces and barriers, at first three future envisaged technology scenarios are developed. Depending on the underlying assumptions, an installed capacity of 120 GWel, 405 GWel or even 1,000 GWel could be reached globally in 2050. In the latter case, CSP would then meet 13–15% of global electricity demand. Depending on these scenarios, cost reduction curves for North Africa and Europe are derived. The cost assessment conducted for two virtual sites in Algeria and in Spain shows a long-term reduction of electricity generating costs to figures between 4 and 6 ct/kWhel in 2050. The paper concludes with an ecological analysis based on life cycle assessment. Although the greenhouse gas emissions of current (solar only operated) CSP systems show a good performance (31 g CO2-equivalents/kWhel) compared with advanced fossil-fired systems (130–900 CO2-eq./kWhel), they could further be reduced to 18 g CO2-eq./kWhel in 2050, including transmission from North Africa to Europe.
Wind turbines, used to generate renewable energy, are typically considered to take only a number of months to produce as much energy as is required in their manufacture and operation. With a life expectancy of upwards of 20 years, the energy produced by wind turbines over their life can be many times greater than that embodied in their production. Many previous life cycle energy studies of wind turbines are based on methods of assessment now known to be incomplete. These studies may underestimate the energy embodied in wind turbines by more than 50%, potentially overestimating the energy yield of those systems and possibly affecting the comparison of energy generation options. With the increasing trend towards larger scale wind turbines, comes a respective increase in the energy required for their manufacture. It is important to consider whether or not these increases in wind turbine size, and thus embodied energy, can be adequately justified by equivalent increases in the energy yield of such systems. This paper presents the results of a life cycle energy and greenhouse emissions analysis of two wind turbines and considers the effect of wind turbine size on energy yield. The issue of incompleteness associated with many past life cycle energy studies is also addressed. Energy yield ratios of 21 and 23 were found for a small and large scale wind turbine, respectively. The embodied energy component was found to be more significant than in previous studies, emphasised here due to the innovative use of a hybrid embodied energy analysis approach. The life cycle energy requirements were shown to be offset by the energy produced within the first 12 months of operation. The size of wind turbines appears to not be an important factor in optimising their life cycle energy performance.
This analysis reviews and synthesizes the literature on the net energy return for electric power generation by wind turbines. Energy return on investment (EROI) is the ratio of energy delivered to energy costs. We examine 119 wind turbines from 50 different analyses, ranging in publication date from 1977 to 2007. We extend on previous work by including additional and more recent analyses, distinguishing between important assumptions about system boundaries and methodological approaches, and viewing the EROI as function of power rating. Our survey shows an average EROI for all studies (operational and conceptual) of 25.2 (n = 114; std. dev = 22.3). The average EROI for just the operational studies is 19.8 (n = 60; std. dev = 13.7). This places wind in a favorable position relative to fossil fuels, nuclear, and solar power generation technologies in terms of EROI.
This study compares three configurations of wind turbines to produce a nameplate power of 100 kW applying LCA methodology over a lifetime of 25 years. Alternatives under study are: installing twenty Endurance (EN) 5 kW, or five Jacobs (JA) 20 kW, or one Northern Power (NP) 100 kW turbines in the Halkirk region of Alberta, Canada. The comparison has been done taking life cycle energy, environment and economic aspects into consideration. Each parameter has been quantified corresponding to a functional unit (FU) of 1 kWh. Life cycle energy requirement for NP is found to be 133.3 kJ/kWh, which is about 69% and 41% less than EN and JA respectively. Global warming impact from NP is found to be 17.8 gCO2eq/kWh, which is around 58% and 29% less respective to EN and JA. The acidification (SO2eq/kWh) and ground level ozone [(VOC + NOx)/kWh] impacts from NP are also found significantly less compared to EN and JA configuration. The difference in relative environmental impacts from configurations is found to be less while performing uncertainty analysis, but does not alter the ranking of configurations. At 10% internal rate of return (IRR), electricity price for NP is 0.21$/kWh, whereas EN and JA prices are 65% and 16% higher respectively.
Using the mathematical formalism of the Brazilian Proposal to the IPCC, we analyse eight power technologies with regard to their past and potential future contributions to global warming. Taking into account detailed bottom-up technology characteristics we define the mitigation potential of each technology in terms of avoided temperature increase by comparing a “coal-only” reference scenario and an alternative low-carbon scenario. Future mitigation potentials are mainly determined by the magnitude of installed capacity and the temporal deployment profile. A general conclusion is that early technology deployment matters, at least within a period of 50–100 years. Our results conclusively show that avoided temperature increase is a better proxy for comparing technologies with regard to their impact on climate change, and that numerous short-term comparisons based on annual or even cumulative emissions may be misleading. Thus, our results support and extend the policy relevance of the Brazilian Proposal in the sense that not only comparisons between countries, but also comparisons between technologies could be undertaken on the basis of avoided temperature increase rather than on the basis of annual emissions as is practiced today.
Fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) materials are being increasingly used in several applications, but especially in the construction and transportation industries. The composites industry is now producing a wide range of FRP products that include strengthening strips and sheets, reinforcing bars, structural profiles, sandwich panels, moulded planks and piping. The waste management of FRP materials, in particular those made with thermosetting resins, is a critical issue for the composites industry because these materials cannot be reprocessed. Therefore, most thermosetting FRP waste is presently sent to landfill, in spite of the significant environmental impact caused by disposing of it in this way. Because more and more waste is being produced throughout the life cycle of FRPs, innovative solutions are needed to manage it. This paper first presents a state-of-the-art review of the present alternatives available to manage FRP waste. It then describes an experimental study conducted on the technical feasibility of incorporating the fine waste generated during the manufacturing of glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) composites in concrete mixtures. Tests were carried out to evaluate the fresh-state and hardened-state properties of concrete mixes in which between 0% and 20% of sand was replaced by GFRP fine waste. Although the incorporation of high proportions of GFRP waste was found to worsen concrete performance in terms of both mechanical and durability-related properties, it seems feasible to incorporate low proportions and reuse GFRP fine waste in concrete, particularly in non-structural applications such as architectural concrete or pavement slabs, where good mechanical properties are less important.
Due to better wind conditions at sea, offshore wind farms have the advantage of higher electricity production compared to onshore and inland wind farms. In contrast, a greater material input, leading to increased energy consumptions and emissions during the production phase, is required to build offshore wind farms. These contrary effects are investigated for the first German offshore wind farm alpha ventus in the North Sea. In a life cycle assessment its environmental influence is compared to that of Germany’s electricity mix.In comparison to the mix, alpha ventus had better indicators in nearly every investigated impact category. One kilowatt-hour electricity, generated by the wind farm, was burdened with 0.137 kWh Primary Energy-Equivalent and 32 g CO2-Equivalent, which represented only a small proportion of the accordant values for the mix. Furthermore, the offshore foundations as well as the submarine cable were the main energy intensive components. The energetic and greenhouse gas payback period was less than one year.Therefore, offshore wind power, even in deep water, is compatible with the switch to sustainable electricity production relying on renewable energies. Additional research, taking backup power plants as well as increasingly required energy storage systems into account, will allow further calculation.
With a booming wind energy industry, the question is now arising of how to deal with end-of-life turbines, and particularly the blades made of hard-to-recycle composites. Kari Larsen investigates possible routes for the recycling of wind turbine blades.
This study conducted a life-cycle inventory analysis of wind energy utilization in Taiwan. Life-cycle stages of wind turbine manufacturing, foundation construction, as well as operation and disposal of the systems are considered. The functional unit is defined as per kWh of electricity generated by the wind power systems. In 2006, the electricity generated from wind power systems stands at 0.124% of the total electricity supply in Taiwan. Moreover, the estimated potential capacity of wind energy inland falls within the range of 1,656 to 6,624 MW. The resource inputs resulting from the life-cycle inventory analysis are: Steel 1.847 g, aluminum 0.043 g, copper 0.043 g, sands 0.045 g, glass 0.067 g, plastics 0.068 g, petrochemical products 0.024 g, and concrete 6.515 g (per kWh of electricity generated). The intensities of energy consumption and CO2 emission amount to about 0.05 MJ/kWh and 3.6 g/kWh, respectively. Furthermore, the payback time of energy input is estimated as 1.3 months.
Meta-analyses of life cycle assessments (LCAs) have become increasingly important in the context of renewable energy technologies and the decisions and policies that influence their adoption. However, a lack of transparency in reporting modeling assumptions, data, and results precludes normalizing across incommensurate system boundaries or key assumptions. This normalization step is critical for conducting valid meta-analyses.
Thus it is necessary to establish clear methods for assessing transparency and to develop conventions for LCA reporting that promote future comparisons. While concerns over transparency in LCA have long been discussed in the literature, the methods proposed to address these concerns have not focused on the transparency and reporting characteristics required for performing meta-analyses. In this study we identify guidelines for assessing reporting transparency that anticipate the needs of meta-analyses of LCA applied to renewable energy technologies.
These guidelines were developed after an attempt to perform a meta-analysis on wind turbine LCAs of 1 megawatt and larger, with the goal of determining how life cycle performance, as measured by global warming intensity, might trend with turbine size. The objective was to normalize system boundaries and environmental conditions, and reinterpret global warming potential with new impact assessment methods. Previous wind LCAs were reviewed and assessed for reporting transparency. Only a small subset of studies proved to be sufficiently transparent for the normalization of system boundaries and modeling assumptions required for meta-analyses.
The routine availability of metals, long assumed by materials scientists to be unworthy of concern, is now a topic of wide interest but one with little clear guidance. This review discusses availability issues from the perspective of the metals utilized in the energy industry. Although the availability of metals is a dynamic characteristic, availability of the widely used base metals appears assured in the immediate future. The same cannot be said for by-product (daughter) metals, which are increasingly vital for many carbon-free energy technologies but are produced only if recovered as part of parent metal processing. Additionally, the direct substitution of one metal for another in short supply is often difficult because the best substitutes tend to have the same availability constraints as did the original metal. Gallium, indium, and neodymium are singled out as elements of particular concern from a long-term-supply standpoint.
The role of renewable energy in climate change mitigation is explored through a review of 162 recent medium- to long-term scenarios from 15 large-scale, energy-economic and integrated assessment models. The current state of knowledge from this community is assessed and its implications drawn for the strategic context in which policymakers and other decision-makers might consider renewable energy. The scenario set is distinguished from previous ones in that it contains more detailed information on renewable deployment levels. All the scenarios in this study were published during or after 2006. Within the context of a large-scale assessment, the analysis is guided primarily by four questions. What sorts of future levels of renewable energy deployment are consistent with different CO 2concentration goals? Which classes of renewable energy will be the most prominent energy producers and how quickly might they expand production? Where might an expansion in renewable energy occur? What is the linkage between the costs of mitigation and an expansion of renewable energy?
Although wind technology produces no emissions during operation, there is an environmental impact associated with the wind turbine during the entire life cycle of the plant, from production to dismantling. A life cycle assessment is carried out to quantify the environmental impact of two existing wind turbines, a 1.8 MW-gearless turbine and a 2.0 MW turbine with gearbox. Both technologies will be compared by means of material usage, carbon dioxide emissions and energy payback time based on the cumulative energy requirements for a 20 year life period. For a quantitative analysis of the material and energy balances over the entire life cycle, the simulation software GEMIS® (Global Emission Model of Integrated System) is used.The results show, as expected, that the largest energy requirement contribution is derived mainly from the manufacturing phase, representing 84.4% of the total life cycle, and particularly from the tower construction which accounts for 55% of the total turbine production. The average energy payback time for both turbines is found to be 7 months and the emissions 9 gCO2/kWh. Different scenarios regarding operation performance, recycling of materials and different manufacturing countries such as Germany, Denmark and China are analysed and the energy payback time and carbon dioxide values obtained. Finally, the wind energy plant is compared with other renewable and non-renewable sources of energy to conclude that wind energy is among the cleanest sources of energy available nowadays.
The purpose of this life cycle assessment (LCA) was to illuminate and describe the potential environmental impacts caused by an offshore wind turbine farm (WTF) throughout its lifetime and use this knowledge in the planning and improvement of future WTFs. The LCA was based on experience from the LCA on Danish electricity and district heating [1] as well as the offshore WTF project at Middelgrunden which is in operation. LCA of a wind turbine is not new. However, development in the area of wind turbines at sea and transmission of the electricity from the offshore WTF is new, and therefore, focus on the advantages and disadvantages in comparison with wind turbines on land is necessary. Data from the current wind turbine project, Middelgrunden, near Copenhagen, was collected from SEAS' wind energy centre and the other participating organisations and extrapolated in order to reflect the offshore WTF at Nysted/Roedsand. Nysted/Roedsand is expected to be in operation by the year 2003. All of the components of the WTF and transmission facilities have been examined and areas of environmental improvement have been identified. It was found that Nysted/Roedsand's offshore WTF and associated transmission facilities per produced kilowatt-hour have an improved environmental profile in comparison with a land wind turbine. Areas of improvement of an offshore WTF include the recycling of metals, recycling of the wings, minimising resource consumption and increasing the life expectancy of the entire wind turbine. The ISO 14040 standard on LCA was followed and the EDIP (Environmental Design of Industrial Products) method and modelling tool were used [2].
A development in wind energy technology towards higher nominal power of the wind turbines is related to the shift of the turbines to better wind conditions. After the shift from onshore to offshore areas, there has been an effort to move further from the sea coast to the deep water areas, which requires floating windmills. Such a concept brings additional environmental impact through higher material demand. To evaluate additional environmental burdens and to find out whether they can be rebalanced or even offset by better wind conditions, a prospective life cycle assessment (LCA) study of one floating concept has been performed and the results are presented in this paper. A comparison with existing LCA studies of conventional offshore wind power and electricity from a natural gas combined cycle is presented. The results indicate similar environmental impacts of electricity production using floating wind power plants as using non-floating offshore wind power plants. The most important stage in the life cycle of the wind power plants is the production of materials. Credits that are connected to recycling these materials at the end-of-life of the power plant are substantial.
Hybrid life cycle assessment is used to assess and compare the life cycle environmental impacts of electricity generation from coal and natural gas with various carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies consisting of post-combustion, pre-combustion or oxyfuel capture; pipeline CO(2) transport and geological storage. The systems with a capture efficiency of 85-96% decrease net greenhouse gas emission by 64-78% depending on the technology used. Calculation of other life cycle impacts shows significant trade-offs with fresh-water eutrophication and toxicity potentials. Human toxicity impact increases by 40-75%, terrestrial ecotoxicity by 60-120%, and freshwater eutrophication by 60-200% for the different technologies. There is a two- to four-fold increase in freshwater ecotoxicity potential in the post-combustion approach. The increase in toxicity for pre-combustion systems is 40-80% for the coal and 50-90% for the gas power plant. The increase in impacts for the oxyfuel approach mainly depends on energy demand for the air separation unit, giving an increase in various toxicity potentials of 35-70% for coal and 60-105% for natural gas system. Most of the increase in impacts with CCS systems is due to the energy penalty and the infrastructure development chain.
Conventional process-analysis-type techniques for compiling life-cycle inventories suffer from a truncation error, which is caused by the omission of resource requirements or pollutant releases of higher-order upstream stages of the production process. The magnitude of this truncation error varies with the type of product or process considered, but can be on the order of 50%. One way to avoid such significant errors is to incorporate input-output analysis into the assessment framework, resulting in a hybrid life-cycle inventory method. Using Monte-Carlo simulations, it can be shown that uncertainties of input-output– based life-cycle assessments are often lower than truncation errors in even extensive, third-order process analyses.
The rare earth elements are indispensible in modern technology, especially in the applications of permanent magnets. Very little quantitative information is available on rare earth elements used in permanent magnets, however. This study looks back to 1983, when neodymium‐iron‐boron (NdFeB) permanent magnets were first manufactured, and reaches to 2007, when the market of permanent magnets was well developed. We draw on the historical data on permanent magnets from China, Japan, the United States, and Europe to provide the first estimates of global in‐use stocks for four rare earth elements - praseodymium (Pr), neodymium (Nd), terbium (Tb), and dysprosium (Dy) - in NdFeB permanent magnets. In‐use stocks amount to 62.6 gigagrams (Gg) Nd, 15.7 Gg Pr, 15.7 Gg Dy, and 3.1 Gg Tb; these stocks, if efficiently recycled, could provide a valuable supplement to geological stocks as they are almost four times the 2007 annual extraction rate of the individual elements.
A photovoltaic/wind/diesel generating system with a battery (PWD system) is discussed from the viewpoint of total CO2 gas emissions during system lifetime. The total emissions are the sum of the emissions occurring at manufacturing and operating. First, the manufacturing CO2 emissions of the photovoltaic generator and the wind turbine generator are calculated by “the process analysis method.” This method considers the material used in each generator, its weight and its CO2 emission rate. On the other hand, the manufacturing CO2 emissions of the diesel generator and the battery are calculated using “the interindustry (input-output) table.” Second, the PWD system is operated on a computer so that the fuel consumption of the diesel generator is a minimum assuming that hourly series data of electric load, insolation intensity, wind speed, and air temperature are known during the year. And CO2 emissions occurring at system operation are obtained from the annual fuel consumption of the diesel generator.The results show that CO2 total emissions of the PWD system are lower than those of the conventional diesel generator system. The CO2 total emissions reach a minimum when the photovoltaic/wind generating ratio is 50/50. The CO2 emissions of manufacturing decrease with increasing of the wind generating ratio from 100/0 to 0/100. The CO2 total emissions decrease as the natural energy ratio increases. It is, however, saturated to about 60% when the ratio is more than 60%. And the CO2 total emissions increase with increasing of the battery capacity. It is concluded that the PWD system plays an important role in decreasing considerably the CO2 total emissions while the total system cost is high under the present price circumstances. © 2001 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 138(2): 14–23, 2002
This paper presents a comprehensive overview of the life cycle GHG emissions from wind and hydro power generation, based on relevant published studies. Comparisons with conventional fossil, nuclear and other renewable generation systems are also presented, in order to put the GHG emissions of wind and hydro power in perspective. Studies on GHG emissions from wind and hydro power show large variations in GHG emissions, varying from 0.2 to 152Â g CO2-equivalents per kWÂ h. The main parameters affecting GHG emissions are also discussed in this article, in relation to these variations. The wide ranging results indicate a need for stricter standardised rules and requirements for life-cycle assessments (LCAs), in order to differentiate between variations due to methodological disparities and those due to real differences in performance of the plants. Since LCAs are resource- and time-intensive, development of generic GHG results for each technology could be an alternative to developing specific data for each plant. This would require the definition of typical parameters for each technology, for example a typical capacity factor for wind power. Such generic data would be useful in documenting GHG emissions from electricity generation for electricity trading purposes.
The high degree of renewability of wind power in China is illustrated by a case study of nonrenewable energy cost and greenhouse gas emission to a typical wind farm in Guangxi. The account for the life cycle of components manufacturing and transportation, installation, operation, maintenance, disassembly and disposal is based on the embodiment intensities of nonrenewable energy use and greenhouse gas emission by an environmental extended input-output analysis for typical commodities in the Chinese economy. The nonrenewable energy cost and greenhouse gas emissions are estimated, respectively, as 0.047 MJ and 0.002 kg CO2-eq for 1 MJ of electricity by the wind farm plant, respectively 56 and 108 times less than those of the average coal plant in China. Considering the dominance of coal power, the nonrenewable energy saving is estimated at 1.22E+10 MJ during its 20 years operating period, while the reduced greenhouse gas emissions are 1.03E+09 kg CO2-eq by the wind farm studied. Compared with the study of the wind farms worldwide, the nonrenewable energy cost intensity of Chinese 1.25 MW wind turbines is in the median range, and the GHG emission intensity is at the lower end of the scale. The concrete results have essential policy making implications supportive to a further spread of wind power technology in China.
Wind power can have considerable impacts on the operation of electricity generation systems. Energy from wind power replaces other forms of electricity generation, thereby lowering overall fuel costs and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, the intermittency of wind power, reflected in its variability and relative unpredictability restrains the full potential benefits of wind power. The variable nature of wind power requires power plants to be ready for bridging moments of low wind power output. The occurrence of forecast errors for wind speed necessitates sufficient reserve capacity in the system, which cannot be used for other useful purposes. These forecast errors inevitably cause efficiency losses in the operation of the system. To analyse the extent of these impacts, the Belgian electricity generation system is taken as a case and investigated on different aspects such as technical limitations for wind power integration and cost and GHG emissions' reduction potential of wind power under different circumstances.
This paper updates a life-cycle net energy analysis and carbon dioxide emissions analysis of three Midwestern utility-scale wind systems. Both the Energy Payback Ratio (EPR) and CO2 analysis results provide useful data for policy discussions regarding an efficient and low-carbon energy mix. The EPR is the amount of electrical energy produced for the lifetime of the power plant divided by the total amount of energy required to procure and transport the materials, build, operate, and decommission the power plants. The CO2 analysis for each power plant was calculated from the life-cycle energy input data.
A previous study also analyzed coal and nuclear fission power plants. At the time of that study, two of the three wind systems had less than a full year of generation data to project the life-cycle energy production. This study updates the analysis of three wind systems with an additional four to eight years of operating data.
The EPR for the utility-scale wind systems ranges from a low of 11 for a two-turbine system in Wisconsin to 28 for a 143-turbine system in southwestern Minnesota. The EPR is 11 for coal, 25 for fission with gas centrifuge enriched uranium and 7 for gaseous diffusion enriched uranium. The normalized CO2 emissions, in tonnes of CO2 per GWeh, ranges from 14 to 33 for the wind systems, 974 for coal, and 10 and 34 for nuclear fission using gas centrifuge and gaseous diffusion enriched uranium, respectively.
There has been much academic debate on the ability of wind to provide a reliable electricity supply. The model presented here calculates the hourly power delivery of 25 GW of wind turbines distributed across Britain's grid, and assesses power delivery volatility and the implications for individual generators on the system. Met Office hourly wind speed data are used to determine power output and are calibrated using Ofgem's published wind output records. There are two main results. First, the model suggests that power swings of 70% within 12 h are to be expected in winter, and will require individual generators to go on or off line frequently, thereby reducing the utilisation and reliability of large centralised plants. These reductions will lead to increases in the cost of electricity and reductions in potential carbon savings. Secondly, it is shown that electricity demand in Britain can reach its annual peak with a simultaneous demise of wind power in Britain and neighbouring countries to very low levels. This significantly undermines the case for connecting the UK transmission grid to neighbouring grids. Recommendations are made for improving ‘cost of wind’ calculations. The authors are grateful for the sponsorship provided by The Renewable Energy Foundation.
Time and again, there has been a hue and a cry that the world is running out of natural resources and the most prominent among those is the famous study entitled ‘The Limits to Growth’ by the ‘Club of Rome’. Since then the fear of scarcity of abiotic resources has been challenging human societies around the globe, particularly the research community. In this paper we will examine the case of the steel industry to argue how and why mineral resources depletion is an issue that needs to be addressed through life cycle assessment in more detail. This paper shows that a more comprehensive understanding about the current production trends of iron ore and steel, which also requires several vital metals such as copper, manganese, nickel and so on, can provide useful insights in assessing the potential future threat of shortages due to depletion of abiotic mineral resources.