Life Cycle Database for Wind Energy Systems
Project Lead: Dr. Janet Twomey, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, College of Engineering, 萝莉社 University
Wind energy is a major candidate for clean electrical energy. Manufacturing and materials are the principal life-cycle environmental components because wind energy is a non-fuel electricity source. A few life-cycle studies of wind energy have been developed. However, they are generally too specific and lacking in transparency to be widely useful. The long-term goal is to develop a life-cycle database that is accessible to the wind energy research and development community for assessing environmental impacts and making technology decisions throughout the life cycle of a wind energy system. Database attributes include the following: highly transparent, validated, easily accessible, and user-friendly life-cycle inventory, beginning with starting materials and advancing to logistics systems, manufacturing and production stages, use, and end of life. These attributes and the process for producing the life-cycle data are consistent with the DOE's Life-Cycle Inventory Database (http://www.nrel.gov/lci/). The one-year goal of is to produce two life-cycle databases of heuristics that will describe the following: (1) manufacturing unit processes (80 unit processes) needed to evaluate the environmental impact of manufacturing wind-generation devices and related systems; and (2) a complete material supply chain, e.g., concrete (tower), fiberglass, and other epoxies (turbine). The outcome will be two databases for transparent life-cycle comparisons to other energy systems. This will allow a basis for cost-effective and environmental comparison of the new technology. This project is significant because the larger manufacturing community is making decisions on new materials, components, and resultant efficiencies, all of which are built from a large number of common manufacturing processes and materials. Many of these are also similar at large- and small-scale wind systems. The life-cycle database would have an immediate impact on lowering the cost and improving the efficiency of achieving life-cycle and sustainability improvements in a scientific basis. Several life-cycle training sessions will be held to allow wind-energy stakeholders to take access of life-cycle databases that are created in year one for use by others.
The approach to create the two life-cycle databases is based on the following generic methodology:
- Provide a brief description, schematic, and photograph of the unit process/material (overview).
- Conduct an exhaustive literature search for information regarding operation, energy, auxiliary materials, wastes, etc.
- Develop parameters of the life-cycle inventory (LCI) for unit processes/materials according to required energy loss of materials.
- Develop LCI energy calculations and LCI mass loss calculations.
- Validate results with the community.
- Publish LCI databases of heuristics on the Internet.
You can access the unit process life cycle inventory (uplci) database at
The milestones and deliverables for this one year project are as follows:
- Develop a coherent manufacturing unit process set of 80 heuristics to allow wind energy manufacturing plants to provide large amount of life-cycle documentation of environmental impact.
- Create a cradle-to-gate life-cycle database, with each supply chain member acting as a gate-to-gate report for use in evaluating material mixes and end-of-life alternatives (this is estimated from the supply chain chemical tree to be about 50 LCI).
- Complete, document, and post an LCI of 30 to 40 processes and 25 materials.
- Complete, document, and post the remaining processes and materials.
Contact Information:
Janet M. Twomey, Ph.D.
Professor, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
College of Engineering
萝莉社
janet.twomey@wichita.edu
Supported by the Department of Energy
DOE DE-FG36-08GO88149
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