TY - GEN
T1 - Life Cycle Assessment in the Marine Renewable Energy Sector
AU - Thomson, R.C.
AU - Harrison, G.P.
AU - Chick, J.P.
PY - 2011/10/5
Y1 - 2011/10/5
N2 - As renewable energy technologies continue to develop, questions are arising over the environmental impacts associated with the process of converting low-carbon energy sources into electrical power. In order to make informed decisions for future developments of the energy system, and to confidently evaluate environmental impacts for market trading, it is necessary to develop a detailed understanding of the indirect life cycle impacts of renewable power generation from the manufacture, operation and decommissioning of generators and network infrastructure.The Pelamis is emerging as a leading wave energy converter, with a new commercial-scale site currently under development off the coast of Shetland in the UK. This research applies process-based Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to the Pelamis to systematically analyse resource use and emissions to the environment at each stage of its life cycle. While LCA has already been applied to a range of energy technologies and networks [1-5], to date very few studies have been carried out in the marine renewables sector, and even fewer of these consider the broad range of environmental impacts tending to only concentrate on carbon emissions and embodied energy [6-9].Further to presenting the new analysis, this work will investigate the effect of practitioner decisions on LCA results. In 2007 a carbon and energy audit was carried out on the Pelamis P1 device [7]. This found that the carbon intensity was 23 g CO2/kWh, comparable to a large wind turbine. Early results from the new full LCA suggest that it may produce a higher figure. Such variations in results could be due to variations in practitioner assumptions, methodology and primary data sources. This research will highlight the assumptions that have the most significant impact on the results, and will suggest best practice guidelines for future analyses of renewable generators.1. Odeh, N. A. and Cockerill, T. T., Life cycle analysis of UK coal fired power plants. Energy Conversion and Management 2008. 49: 212-220.2. Riva, A., D'Angelosante, S. and Trebeschi, C., Natural gas and the environmental results of life cycle assessment. Energy 2006. 31: 138-148.3. Vestas Life cycle assessment of offshore and onshore sited wind power plants based on Vestas V90-3.0MW turbines, 2 Edn. Vestas Wind Systems A/S, Randers, Denmark 2006.4. Harrison, G. P., Maclean, E. J., Karamanlis, S. and Ochoa, L. F., Life cycle assessment of the transmission network in Great Britain. Energy Policy 2010. 38: 3622-3631.5. Jones, C. I. and McManus, M. C., Life-cycle assessment of 11 kV electrical overhead lines and underground cables. Journal of Cleaner Production 2010. 18: 1464-1477.6. Douglas, C. A., Harrison, G. P. and Chick, J. P., Life cycle assessment of the Seagen marine current turbine. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Part M-Journal of Engineering for the Maritime Environment 2008. 222: 1-12.7. Parker, R. P. M., Harrison, G. P. and Chick, J. P., Energy and carbon audit of an offshore wave energy converter. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Part a-Journal of Power and Energy 2007. 221: 1119-1130.8. Soerensen, H. C., Naef, S., Anderberg, S. and Hauschild, M. Z., Life Cycle Assessment of the Wave Energy Converter: Wave Dragon International Conference on Ocean Energy, Bremerhaven, Germany 2006.9. Cavallaro, F. and Coiro, D., Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of a marine current turbine for cleaner energy production 3rd International Conference on Life Cycle Management, Zurich 2007.
AB - As renewable energy technologies continue to develop, questions are arising over the environmental impacts associated with the process of converting low-carbon energy sources into electrical power. In order to make informed decisions for future developments of the energy system, and to confidently evaluate environmental impacts for market trading, it is necessary to develop a detailed understanding of the indirect life cycle impacts of renewable power generation from the manufacture, operation and decommissioning of generators and network infrastructure.The Pelamis is emerging as a leading wave energy converter, with a new commercial-scale site currently under development off the coast of Shetland in the UK. This research applies process-based Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to the Pelamis to systematically analyse resource use and emissions to the environment at each stage of its life cycle. While LCA has already been applied to a range of energy technologies and networks [1-5], to date very few studies have been carried out in the marine renewables sector, and even fewer of these consider the broad range of environmental impacts tending to only concentrate on carbon emissions and embodied energy [6-9].Further to presenting the new analysis, this work will investigate the effect of practitioner decisions on LCA results. In 2007 a carbon and energy audit was carried out on the Pelamis P1 device [7]. This found that the carbon intensity was 23 g CO2/kWh, comparable to a large wind turbine. Early results from the new full LCA suggest that it may produce a higher figure. Such variations in results could be due to variations in practitioner assumptions, methodology and primary data sources. This research will highlight the assumptions that have the most significant impact on the results, and will suggest best practice guidelines for future analyses of renewable generators.1. Odeh, N. A. and Cockerill, T. T., Life cycle analysis of UK coal fired power plants. Energy Conversion and Management 2008. 49: 212-220.2. Riva, A., D'Angelosante, S. and Trebeschi, C., Natural gas and the environmental results of life cycle assessment. Energy 2006. 31: 138-148.3. Vestas Life cycle assessment of offshore and onshore sited wind power plants based on Vestas V90-3.0MW turbines, 2 Edn. Vestas Wind Systems A/S, Randers, Denmark 2006.4. Harrison, G. P., Maclean, E. J., Karamanlis, S. and Ochoa, L. F., Life cycle assessment of the transmission network in Great Britain. Energy Policy 2010. 38: 3622-3631.5. Jones, C. I. and McManus, M. C., Life-cycle assessment of 11 kV electrical overhead lines and underground cables. Journal of Cleaner Production 2010. 18: 1464-1477.6. Douglas, C. A., Harrison, G. P. and Chick, J. P., Life cycle assessment of the Seagen marine current turbine. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Part M-Journal of Engineering for the Maritime Environment 2008. 222: 1-12.7. Parker, R. P. M., Harrison, G. P. and Chick, J. P., Energy and carbon audit of an offshore wave energy converter. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Part a-Journal of Power and Energy 2007. 221: 1119-1130.8. Soerensen, H. C., Naef, S., Anderberg, S. and Hauschild, M. Z., Life Cycle Assessment of the Wave Energy Converter: Wave Dragon International Conference on Ocean Energy, Bremerhaven, Germany 2006.9. Cavallaro, F. and Coiro, D., Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of a marine current turbine for cleaner energy production 3rd International Conference on Life Cycle Management, Zurich 2007.
M3 - Conference contribution
SP - 120
EP - 125
BT - LCA report - Instruments for Green Futures Markets
PB - American Center for Life Cycle Assessment
T2 - LCA XI
Y2 - 4 October 2011 through 6 October 2011
ER -