Reducing risk to the environment connected with energy production is a clearly stated target of the environmental control programmes of many industrialised countries. Thus, it would appear that systems of energy production need to be assessed and due consideration given to their environmental impact. That renewable energy technologies, particularly in the production phase, are currently those that generate a lower environmental impact compared to traditional fossil fuel systems is now well-established. Despite this, many studies fail to include an evaluation of the impacts generated by systems designed and built for energy production over their entire life cycle. Among the more interesting and unexplored renewable energy sources is the energy from marine tidal currents. Tidal currents are coming to be recognised as a resource to be exploited for the sustainable generation of electrical power. A study of 106 possible locations in the EU for tidal turbines showed that these sites could generate power in the order of 50 TWh/year. The aim of this paper is to provide, with the aid of LCA, a preliminary environmental assessment analysis of a innovative marine current turbine for cleaner energy production.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of a marine current turbine for cleaner energy production
CAVALLARO, Fausto;
2007-01-01
Abstract
Reducing risk to the environment connected with energy production is a clearly stated target of the environmental control programmes of many industrialised countries. Thus, it would appear that systems of energy production need to be assessed and due consideration given to their environmental impact. That renewable energy technologies, particularly in the production phase, are currently those that generate a lower environmental impact compared to traditional fossil fuel systems is now well-established. Despite this, many studies fail to include an evaluation of the impacts generated by systems designed and built for energy production over their entire life cycle. Among the more interesting and unexplored renewable energy sources is the energy from marine tidal currents. Tidal currents are coming to be recognised as a resource to be exploited for the sustainable generation of electrical power. A study of 106 possible locations in the EU for tidal turbines showed that these sites could generate power in the order of 50 TWh/year. The aim of this paper is to provide, with the aid of LCA, a preliminary environmental assessment analysis of a innovative marine current turbine for cleaner energy production.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
