Abstract
So far, very few studies have focused on the quantification of the environmental impacts of a wave energy converter. The current study presents a preliminary Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of the MegaRoller wave energy converter, aiming to contribute to decision making regarding the least carbon- and energy-intensive design choices. The LCA encompasses all life cycle stages from “cradle-to-grave” for the wave energy converter, including the panel, foundation, PTO and mooring system, considering its deployment in Peniche, Portugal. Background data was mainly sourced from the manufacturer whereas foreground data was sourced from the Ecoinvent database (v.3.4). The resulting impact assessment of the MegaRoller is aligned with all previous studies in concluding that the main environmental impacts are due to materials use and manufacture, and mainly due to high amounts of material used, particularly steel. The scenario analysis showed that a reduction of the environmental impacts in the final design of the MegaRoller wave energy converter could potentially lie in reducing the quantity of steel by studying alternatives for its replacement. Results are generally comparable with earlier studies for ocean technologies and are very low when compared with other power generating technologies.
Highlights
These values rise to 75.1 g CO2 eq/kWh and 1010 kJ/kWh if the disposal scenario is excluded, highlighting the crucial role this uncertain stage plays in the overall life cycle
Since ocean energy is being broadly considered as a technology that will contribute to a low-carbon energy system, the analysis of ReCiPe method results focuses on the global warming potential (GWP)
The environmental impacts resulting from assembly, installation, operation and maintenance are not significant
Summary
Global warming due to emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) is increasing the need to move towards a low carbon economy. Energy planners need to keep satisfying a growing electricity demand which is expected to grow by 80% by 2040 [1]. Research & Development in renewable energy sources (RES) and its commercialization and deployment in the electrical grid is one of the partial solutions to the problems of carbon dependency in electricity production and climate change. Wave power is seen as a considerable opportunity for clean renewable energy supply, to date, most of the wave energy technology developed still requires further research and demonstration tests to prove its reliability. As the Marine Renewable Energy (MRE) sector develops, it is important to ensure that the technology proves to be a sustainable alternative [2]
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