Life Cycle Assessment of Tall Onshore Hybrid Steel Wind Turbine Towers

Michaela Gkantou, Carlos Rebelo and Charalampos Baniotopoulos
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Michaela Gkantou: Department of Civil Engineering, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK
Carlos Rebelo: ISISE, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Coimbra, 3030-788 Coimbra, Portugal
Charalampos Baniotopoulos: Department of Civil Engineering, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 15, 1-21

Abstract: Increasing needs for taller wind turbines with bigger capacities, intended for places with high wind velocities or at higher altitudes, have led to new technologies in the wind energy industry. A recently introduced structural system for onshore wind turbine towers is the hybrid steel tower. Comprehension of the environmental response of this hybrid steel structural system is warranted. Even though life cycle assessments (LCAs) for conventional wind turbine tubular towers exist, the environmental performance of this new hybrid structure has not been reported. The present paper examines the LCA of 185 m tall hybrid towers. Considerations made for the LCA procedure are meticulously described, including particular attention at the erection and transportation stage. The highest environmental impacts arise during the manufacturing stage followed by the erection stage. The tower is the component with the largest carbon emissions and energy requirements. The obtained LCA footprints of hybrid towers are also compared to the literature data on conventional towers, resulting in similar environmental impacts.

Keywords: life cycle assessment (LCA); wind turbines; hybrid towers; global warming potential (GWP); renewable energy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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