Life cycle assessment of wind turbines in Pınarbaşı-Kayseri

In this paper, environmental effects of three medium scale (330 kW, 500 kW, 810 kW) and two large scale (2050 kW, 3020 kW) wind turbines with the hub heights of 50 m, 80 m and 100 m installed in Pinarbasi-Kayseri are compared using life cycle assessment methodology. Manufacturing and utilization of wind turbines, decommissioning and recycling steps are considered for this study. GaBi4 life cycle assessment software is utilized for analysis. Selected wind turbines are compared in terms of environmental impacts, embodied energies and energy payback times. The results show that environmental impacts are low for the turbines with high hub heights due to increase in electricity production of those turbines. Wind turbine with rated power of 2050 kW at 100 m hub height is the ideal option to install in Pinarbasi-Kayseri among the selected wind turbines with respect to the energy, environmental aspects and energy payback time. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.