Life Cycle Analysis of the Embodied Carbon Emissions from 14 Wind Turbines with Rated Powers between 50 Kw and 3.4 Mw

Smoucha, Emily A.; Fitzpatrick, K.; Buckingham, Sarah; Knox, Oliver

doi:10.4172/2090-4541.1000211

Cited by 16 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 16 publications

(59 reference statements)

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“…As argued in the Introduction section, most LCA studies of wind turbine systems, and RES in general, 474 cannot be fairly compared because of differing model-related assumptions, among others. Hence, this comparison is not 475an attempt to explain the difference between the results of this study and what has been published previously 476[15,18,51,[43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50], but rather to confirm that they fall within acceptable ranges. 477…”

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confidence: 61%

Exploring technologically, temporally and geographically-sensitive life cycle inventories for wind turbines: A parameterized model for Denmark

et al. 2019

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8In life cycle assessments of wind turbines and, more generally, of Renewable Energy Systems (RES), environmental 9 impacts are usually normalized by electricity production to express their performance per kilowatt-hour. For most RES, 10 manufacture and installation dominate the impacts. Hence, results are sensitive to parameters governing both impacting 11 phases and electricity production. Most available studies present the environmental performance of generic wind 12 turbines with assumed fixed values for sensitive parameters (e.g. electricity production) that often vary between studies 13 and fail to reflect specificities of wind farm projects. This study presents an approach to build a comprehensive 14 parameterized model that generates unique wind turbine life cycle inventories conditioned by technologically, 15 temporally and geographically-sensitive parameters. This approach allows for the characterization of the carbon 16 footprint of five sets of turbines in Denmark, where wind power is highly developed. The analysis shows disparities 17 even between turbines of similar power output, mostly explained by the service time, load factor and components 18 weights but also by background processes (evolution of electricity mix and recycled steel content). Project-specific 19 inventories with technologically, temporally and geographically-sensitive parameters are essential for supporting RES 20 development projects. Such inventories are especially important to evaluate highly-renewable electricity mixes, such as 21 that of Denmark. 22 Keywords: wind turbine, parameterized model, life-cycle assessment, spatio-temporal variability, carbon footprint. 23 24 2 2 1 Introduction 25 Increasingly competing with conventional energy sources, Renewable Energy Systems (RES) offer a way out of fossil 26 fuels dependency and allow to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) associated with the generation of electricity [1]. 27The latter, together with heat production, still represents 42% of the world GHG emissions in 2015 per the International 28 Energy Agency. The importance of RES is visible as the installed capacity of these systems increased by 30% 29 worldwide in the last 40 years. However, their development must be intensified and combined with energy efficiency 30 measures to reduce the GHG emissions at a global level, since the electricity demand has more than doubled during that 31 same period [2]. 32In parallel to this development, numerous Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies analyzed the performance of RES and 33 their increasing role in regional and national electricity mixessee [3] in the context of Denmarkas well as at 34 worldwide levelsee [4]. LCA has proven to be a relevant tool to analyze the performance of different electricity 35 generation systems [5][6][7][8]. LCA includes all the environmentally-relevant phases of the value chain of electricity 36 production system: from the capture and conversion of primary energy, via the construction, maintenance and disposal 37 of the plant to transform it, down to i...

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confidence: 61%

Exploring technologically, temporally and geographically-sensitive life cycle inventories for wind turbines: A parameterized model for Denmark

et al. 2019

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“…For a given section of pavement the GHG emission amount was determined with the following equation: [74] determined the total emissions produced due to the full life cycle, including manufacturing, transportation, installation, operation, and decommissioning of a wind turbine. The authors presented the emission values for the turbines with rated capacities from 50 kW to 3.4 MW.…”

Section: Appendix a Calculation Methods Data Sources And Data Qualimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The emission numbers were checked against the emission values reported by Vestas for a 2 MW Vestas turbine and it was found that the Vestas estimated higher values [75]. Smoucha et al [74] emission values were also assessed against emissions from a 1.6 MW turbine, and the two were found to be comparable despite there being a size difference. Based on these findings, emissions reported by Smoucha et al [74] were considered in this study; the lifecycle GHG emissions value of 148 tonnes CO 2-eq for a 250-kW turbine.…”

Section: Appendix a Calculation Methods Data Sources And Data Qualimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Smoucha et al [74] emission values were also assessed against emissions from a 1.6 MW turbine, and the two were found to be comparable despite there being a size difference. Based on these findings, emissions reported by Smoucha et al [74] were considered in this study; the lifecycle GHG emissions value of 148 tonnes CO 2-eq for a 250-kW turbine. A capacity factor of 0.25 was considered, which is within the range of the capacity factors used in the other studies that were reviewed.…”

Section: Appendix a Calculation Methods Data Sources And Data Qualimentioning

confidence: 99%

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Life Cycle Assessment for Transportation Infrastructure Policy Evaluation and Procurement for State and Local Governments

et al. 2019

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Climate change is one of the defining challenges of our time, and achieving mitigation targets requires urgent action to identify and implement strategies for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, identifying, quantifying, and then selecting among the many possible strategies to achieve GHG reductions is difficult, especially without a standardized approach for comparison. Presenting alternatives in a mitigation supply curve is an approach that has been used previously to compare the costs and magnitude of mitigation potential for different strategies. Some of the critiques of this approach include the lack of a consequential perspective in determining mitigation and the lack of a life cycle perspective in quantifying mitigation and economic costs. This research uses the principles of consequential life cycle assessment and life cycle cost analysis to improve on the mitigation supply curve concept to support evaluation and procurement decisions for transportation infrastructure. Results from pilot studies for road infrastructure indicate that a consequential life cycle approach for mitigation supply curves is feasible and can support agency decision-making and communication regarding those decisions.

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“…This process is also an emission factor [20]. In another study [21] to estimate the embodied carbon emissions from 14 wind turbines with rated powers between 50 Kw and 3.4 Mw, it was found that the materials and machinery for production ranged between 2,139-2,142 tons of CO2 for each turbine with steel, aluminium, polyester and copper accounting for higher emissions. The study notes that only accounting for the operational emissions of a wind turbine misrepresents the environmental impact of its lifecycle.…”

Section: Wind Turbines and Ghg Emissionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Energy Transition: Embodied Energy in Clean Technologies and the Need for International Regulatory Proactivity

Abraham-Dukuma

2019

WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment

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The present study is an observation of the absence of policy focus and preparedness to address the greenhouse footprints and eventual climate change implications of some clean energy systems in the energy transition debate. Electric vehicles, wind turbines and photovoltaics constitute sample clean technologies under the study. A technical literature review is the approach for forming an appreciable understanding of the life cycle emissions of the sample clean energy technologies. Content and critical legal analysis are adopted for the examination of international and domestic legal regimes on clean energy sources, with India, China, the United States and the United Kingdom as domestic foci. The results of the study are the reality of supposed clean energy technologies as sources of greenhouse gas emissions, although considerably low compared to fossil fuel sources, and the apparent lack of international and domestic legal mechanisms to address the life cycle emissions of these technologies and the need for proactive policy actions.

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Life Cycle Analysis of the Embodied Carbon Emissions from 14 Wind Turbines with Rated Powers between 50 Kw and 3.4 Mw

Cited by 16 publications

References 16 publications

Exploring technologically, temporally and geographically-sensitive life cycle inventories for wind turbines: A parameterized model for Denmark

Exploring technologically, temporally and geographically-sensitive life cycle inventories for wind turbines: A parameterized model for Denmark

Life Cycle Assessment for Transportation Infrastructure Policy Evaluation and Procurement for State and Local Governments

Energy Transition: Embodied Energy in Clean Technologies and the Need for International Regulatory Proactivity

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