Journal of Fundamentals of Renewable Energy and Applications
Open Access
ISSN: 2090-4541
ISSN: 2090-4541
Oliver G.G. Knox
School of Environmental and Rural Science,
Armidale, NSW 2351
Australia
Research Article
Life Cycle Analysis of the Embodied Carbon Emissions from 14 Wind Turbines with Rated Powers between 50 Kw and 3.4 Mw
Author(s): Emily A. Smoucha, Kate Fitzpatrick, Sarah Buckingham and Oliver G.G. KnoxEmily A. Smoucha, Kate Fitzpatrick, Sarah Buckingham and Oliver G.G. Knox
In order to facilitate increased renewable energy production, there continues to be a global increase in wind turbine installation. When quantifying the carbon offsets from these installations, the production emissions are rarely accounted for. This paper reports on the embodied carbon emissions from the production of 14 wind turbines, rated between 50 kW and 3.4 MW. The embodied emissions were quantified from emission factors specific to each material involved in manufacture, transport to site, and installation of the turbines. The resulting trend was that higher-rated turbines had greater embodied carbon emissions with one 3 MW turbine incorporating 1046 tCO2eq compared to only 58 tCO2eq for an 80 kW turbine. However, the greater electricity output of the turbines offset these emissions more quickly with a recovery in 64 days for a 3.4 MW turbine compared to 35.. View More»
DOI:
10.4172/2090-4541.1000211