Life cycle assessment of a soft-wing airborne wind energy system and its application within an off-grid hybrid power plant configuration
K. Coutinho (TU Delft - Aerospace Engineering)
R Schmehl – Mentor (TU Delft - Wind Energy)
Jos Sinke – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Group Sinke)
F. Yin – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Aircraft Noise and Climate Effects)
R. Joshi – Mentor (TU Delft - Wind Energy)
Lavinia Reitz – Mentor
Prapti Maharjan – Mentor
More Info
expand_more
Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.
Abstract
The European Commission’s roadmap aims to install 60 GW of offshore wind energy by 2030 and 300 GW by 2050, requiring substantial raw materials. Airborne wind energy (AWE) offers a promising alternative with lower material demand and environmental impact. This thesis assesses the environmental impact of a 100 kW soft-kite AWE system using life cycle assessment (LCA). The target market for these AWE systems includes off-grid remote areas. Thus, a comparative LCA of hybrid power plant (HPP) configurations was conducted using site data from a military base in Marseille, France. Results show the Falcon AWE system has a GWP of 8.6 kg CO2 eq/MWh and CED of 144.1 MJ/MWh, with the ground station being the most impactful component. For the HPP, including diesel generators and batteries reduces the oversizing of renewable components, enhancing sustainability. Future recommendations include developing AWE-specific databases and evaluating more impact indicators.