A review of life cycle impact analysis of wind turbines

Abstract

Renewable Energy (RE) sources, such as wind energy, are preferred over non- renewable sources, due to the potential reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. On the other hand, large scale Wind Turbines (WTs) also present significant challenges as discussed in this paper. Meanwhile, recent developments in micro-generation and hence small scale WTs, through state-of-the-art technologies effectively manage the demand, load and instabilities with effective planning, control and efficiency yield. A life cycle assessment (LCA) allows for environmental impact evaluation during the whole life cycle stages from production, to operation and generation of energy on site. In this way a LCA leads to a comprehensive evaluation of performance of a technology. This paper presents a comprehensive LCA review of WT technologies.