Life cycle assessment of a wind farm and related externalities

This paper concentrates on the assessment of energy and emissions related t o the production and manufacture of materials for an offshore wind farm as well as a wind farm on land based on a life cycle analysis (LCA) model. In Denmark a model has been developed for life cycle assessments of different materials. The model is able to assess the energy use related to the produc tion, transportation and manufacture of 1 kg of material. The energy use is divided into fuels used in order to estimate the emissions through the lif e cycle. In the paper the model and the attached assumptions are described, and the model is demonstrated for two wind farms. The externalities for th e wind farms are reported, showing the importance of life cycle assessment for renewable energy technologies. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All right s reserved.