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Life Cycle Assessment of Electricity Production from Airborne Wind Energy

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Airborne Wind Energy

Part of the book series: Green Energy and Technology ((GREEN))

Abstract

Renewable energies are superior to conventional electricity generating technologies in most environmental categories but are not completely free of environmental burdens. Especially when large-scale deployment is the goal, the effects of renewable energy use can have significant effects. As of now, there is no profound evaluation of the ecological aspects of airborne wind energy systems in the literature. By applying the life cycle assessment approach, this study investigates the global warming potential and cumulative energy demand associated with the production of 1 kWh of electricity from an AWE plant. In addition, the greatest global warming contributors and the energy payback time are evaluated and compared to conventional wind energy. For that purpose, energy and material flows of all life cycle processes, from exploitation of raw materials, manufacturing, assembly, transportation, installation, operation and maintenance to decommissioning and disposal, are analyzed. The study is based on a fictitious 1.8 MW airborne wind energy system including all required components up to connection to the electricity grid. As an example case, a generalized fixed wing aircraft with a ground-based generator is considered. Then, this system is compared to a conventional wind turbine of a similar power rating. This information can support system developers in an eco-friendlier system design and decision-makers in economy, public and politics to evaluate their support of this technology.

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Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank VIP Innovation GmbH and its network HWN500 for providing time to condense the original M.Sc. thesis into the present book chapter. Furthermore, the provision of data by Ampyx Power and the Endowed Professorship of Technical Textiles and Textile Mechanical Components at TU Chemnitz are highly appreciated. Special thanks for proof reading and valuable feedback go to the author’s co-students Andrew C. Toth, Fahim Sadat and Adam Beck and to the unknown peer reviewers of this chapter.

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  1. ZIM network HWN 500, c/o VIP Innovation GmbH, Am Oberhafen 12, 13597, Berlin, Germany

    Stefan Wilhelm

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Correspondence to Stefan Wilhelm .

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  1. Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands

    Roland Schmehl

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Wilhelm, S. (2018). Life Cycle Assessment of Electricity Production from Airborne Wind Energy. In: Schmehl, R. (eds) Airborne Wind Energy. Green Energy and Technology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1947-0_30

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1947-0_30

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-10-1946-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-1947-0

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