A prospective life cycle assessment of drivetrain technologies in offshore wind
article
This study employs a prospective life cycle assessment (pLCA) to evaluate the environ mental impacts of two drivetrain configurations, direct drive (DD) and medium-speed (MS), at the wind farm level across the entire life cycle. The assessment considers how environmental impacts evolve in the future, reflecting projected changes in macroeco nomic indicators and climate targets. The DD configuration shows higher impacts in the material extraction and production phase due to its reliance on critical metals and rare earth elements, which is also offset in the long term through recycling benefits at the end-of-life (EOL) stage. In contrast, the MS configuration has greater emissions during operations, requiring more drivetrain-related maintenance and component replacements, while the DD configuration benefits from lower maintenance demands. The total climate change impact for DD is 6.8 g CO2-eq/kWh, while for MS, it is slightly higher at 7.1 g CO2-eq/kWh. A comparison of static LCA and pLCA highlights key differences, partic ularly in the operational phase, where pLCA indicates lower emissions due to anticipated improvements in supply chains, such as greater use of renewable-powered refineries for vessel fuel. However, pLCA accounts for recycling benefits over time rather than immedi ately, leading to lower avoided burdens at EOL compared to static LCA. Beyond climate change, metal depletion is a key impact category, with DD showing a 12% higher impact due to its reliance on copper and rare earth elements, while MS exhibits higher emis sions from fuel-intensive operations. This study demonstrates the prospective approach for conducting LCA, emphasizing the importance of integrating future technologies and processes in environmental impact assessments for offshore wind.
Topics
TNO Identifier
1006551
Source
Journal of Physics: Conference Series - EERA Deep Wind Conference 2025, 3131
Publisher
TNO
Article nr.
012043