Life cycle carbon emission accounting of a typical coastal wind power generation project in Hebei Province, China

Abstract

Under the transition from a traditional energy structure to renewable energy with zero carbon emissions over the whole life cycle, wind power is a typical form of renewable energy-based power generation, and the life cycle carbon emissions of wind power projects have become the focus of global attention. Because the fluctuation and randomness of wind energy directly affect the carbon emissions of wind power projects, accurately predicting wind power projects’ carbon emissions and environmental impacts during their service life is impossible. The coastal wind farm in Qinhuangdao City, China, is taken as the research case without considering the wake effect between wind turbines. A predictive composite whole-life carbon emission accounting system is constructed with the impact of wind conditions, an emission reduction indicator system is established around the entire life cycle, and the emission reduction capacity of wind power is compared with that of traditional thermal power engineering. The results show that the net carbon emission reduction of the wind power project is 7.62 E + 04 t CO2e, and net emissions are reduced by 1.35 E + 06 t CO2e compared with traditional thermal power units of the same power level. The emission reduction level reaches 71.47 %, and the return rate of emission reduction increases by 357.46 % compared with thermal power units. The return cycle of the carbon emission reduction input is 4.98 years. The research results provide an effective accounting framework for the carbon emissions and emission reduction potential of coastal wind power projects and show that the popularization and application of wind turbines can help achieve carbon peak and neutrality.