Sustainable Wind Power Plant Modernization

Abstract

The production of energy in wind power plants is regarded as ecologically clean because there being no direct emissions of harmful substances during the conversion of wind energy into electricity. The production and operation of wind power plant components make use of the significant potential of materials such as steel, plastics, concrete, oils, and greases. Energy is also used, which is a source of potential negative environmental impacts. Servicing a wind farm power plant during its operational years, which lasts most often 25 years, followed by its disassembly, involves energy expenditures as well as the recovery of post-construction material potential. There is little research in the world literature on models and methodologies addressing analyses of the environmental and energy aspects of wind turbine modernization, whether in reference to turbines within their respective lifecycles or to those which have already completed them. The paper presents an attempt to solve the problems of wind turbine modernization in terms of balancing energy and material potentials. The aim of sustainable modernization is to overhaul: assemblies, components, and elements of wind power plants to extend selected phases as well as the lifecycle thereof while maintaining a high quality of power and energy; high energy, environmental, and economic efficiency; and low harmfulness to operators, operational functions, the environment, and other technical systems. The aim of the study is to develop a methodology to assess the efficiency of energy and environmental costs incurred during the 25-year lifecycle of a 2 MW wind power plant and of the very same power plant undergoing sustainable modernization to extend its lifecycle to 50 years. The analytical and research procedure conducted is a new model and methodological approach, one which is a valuable source of data for the sustainable lifecycle management of wind power plants in an economy focused on process efficiency and the sustainability of energy and material resources.

Life Cycle Assessment of a Barge-Type Floating Wind Turbine and Comparison with Other Types of Wind Turbines

“…GWP of the production/manufacture stage is 94%. As a matter of fact, in line with past studies [11,[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25], Tables 1 and 2 show the largest GWP contribution comes from the production/manufacture stage in wind turbines. It can be decreased using alternative materials with the lowest CO 2 emissions or reducing the amounts of concrete and steel for the production/manufacture stage.…”

“…The results of Bhandari et al highlighted a correlation between the GHG to the AEY for onshore wind farms and single wind turbines. Kasner et al [25] investigated the energy efficiency and environmental effects of wind turbines with a lifespan of 25 years and 50 years, using the sustainable modernization method. To increase the lifetime of the wind turbine to 50 years, it was extended by replacing components, such as rotor, blades, structure parts etc., and maintaining them at the required time.…”

“…In this study, they analysed the environmental impacts of a wind turbine with a life of 50 years and a new wind turbine that has completed its 25-year lifetime and which will operate again for 25 years. They highlighted that the greenhouse gas emission of the wind turbine with a lifetime 50 years, is lower by 40-50% than that of two wind turbines during their 25-year life periods [25].…”

The Development of Efficient Contaminated Polymer Materials Shredding in Recycling Processes

“…The recycling of plastics makes it possible to significantly reduce the environmental burden during the life cycle and to recover some of the natural resources and energy [ 21 , 22 ]. Previous studies [ 14 , 18 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ] have shown that for multi-plastic components from which it is difficult to separate individual materials (e.g., wind turbine blades, automobile tires), the use of recycling as a form of post-consumer management significantly contributes to the reduction of environmental impacts during the life cycle of these components.…”

Evaluating the Technology Readiness of a Ribbon-Blade Wind Turbine Using NASA’s TRL Method

“…Researching, developing, and assessing the technological readiness of an innovative ribbon turbine using NASA's TRL method falls in line with the realization of intelligent development goals laid out in the "Europe 2020 Strategy for Development" [1][2][3][4].…”