TY - JOUR
T1 - Life Cycle Environmental Impact of Wind Turbines
T2 - 2022 Science of Making Torque from Wind, TORQUE 2022
AU - Guillore, A.
AU - Canet, H.
AU - Bottasso, C. L.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.
PY - 2022/6/2
Y1 - 2022/6/2
N2 - This study explores the effect of different technology choices on the life cycle Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emissions of wind turbines. It aims at identifying possible improvement pathways and quantifying potential benefits. First, an automated Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) model is developed and validated against other studies. The breakdown of the resulting Impact Of Energy (IOE) by life stages, components and materials is presented for a selected reference turbine. Sensitivity analyses are conducted on the different hypotheses to model the turbine life cycle. The model is then applied to analyze the potential effect of turbine size, foundation type, tower type, drivetrain technology, carbon-fiber blades and thermoplastic polymer resin for the blades. The tower type (especially wooden tower) and the thermoplastics (allowing to recover materials at the end-of-life) are identified to have the biggest potential to reduce the life cycle environmental impact of wind energy.
AB - This study explores the effect of different technology choices on the life cycle Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emissions of wind turbines. It aims at identifying possible improvement pathways and quantifying potential benefits. First, an automated Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) model is developed and validated against other studies. The breakdown of the resulting Impact Of Energy (IOE) by life stages, components and materials is presented for a selected reference turbine. Sensitivity analyses are conducted on the different hypotheses to model the turbine life cycle. The model is then applied to analyze the potential effect of turbine size, foundation type, tower type, drivetrain technology, carbon-fiber blades and thermoplastic polymer resin for the blades. The tower type (especially wooden tower) and the thermoplastics (allowing to recover materials at the end-of-life) are identified to have the biggest potential to reduce the life cycle environmental impact of wind energy.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85131896882&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1088/1742-6596/2265/4/042033
DO - 10.1088/1742-6596/2265/4/042033
M3 - Conference article
AN - SCOPUS:85131896882
SN - 1742-6588
VL - 2265
JO - Journal of Physics: Conference Series
JF - Journal of Physics: Conference Series
IS - 4
M1 - 042033
Y2 - 1 June 2022 through 3 June 2022
ER -
