Life Cycle Assessment of Electricity Generation from an Array of Subsea Tidal Kite Prototypes

Mohamad Kaddoura, Johan Tivander and Sverker Molander
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Mohamad Kaddoura: Division of Environmental System Analysis, Department of Technology Management and Economics, Chalmers University of Technology, 412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden
Johan Tivander: Division of Environmental System Analysis, Department of Technology Management and Economics, Chalmers University of Technology, 412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden
Sverker Molander: Division of Environmental System Analysis, Department of Technology Management and Economics, Chalmers University of Technology, 412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 2, 1-18

Abstract: Tidal current technologies have the potential to provide highly predictable energy, since tides are driven by lunar cycles. However, before implementing such technologies on a large scale, their environmental performance should be assessed. In this study, a prospective life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed on a 12 MW tidal energy converter array of Minesto Deep Green 500 (DG500) prototypes, closely following the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) standards, but including scenarios to cover various design possibilities. The global warming potential (GWP) of the prototype array was in the range of 18.4–26.3 gCO 2 -eq/kWhe. This is comparable with other renewable energy systems, such as wind power. Material production processes have the largest impact, but are largely offset by recycling at the end of life. Operation and maintenance processes, including the production of replacement parts, also provide major contributions to environmental impacts. Comparisons with other technologies are limited by the lack of a standardized way of performing LCA on offshore power generation technologies.

Keywords: tidal energy; ocean energy; marine energy; renewable energy; life cycle assessment; Deep Green; tidal kite (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 (5)

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