Improving of Life Cycles of Renewable Energy Production Systems

Abstract

Wind energy is a major artery among renewable energy sources in the world. The accelerated expansion of the wind farm is the synonym of a set of economic constraint and ecological & technical impacts, which have oriented scientists to find out how to optimize the life cycles at full production capacity to balance the increase in installation cost and socio-ecological constraints. The equivalent in CO₂ emissions, accompanying life cycles of a wind power plant is one of the major problems that are to be optimized. Algeria with its immense surface area (the first in Africa and the tenth in the world), has enormous potential in terms of renewable energy, including wind power. In this context, the installation of wind farms in this large area, especially in the sahara which occupies the largest area of the country (the Sahara represents 90% of the total area); requires an optimization study of the efficiency of a sustainable exploitation based on the equivalent in CO₂ emissions per Kwh. In this article, we evaluated the emissions accompanying the life cycles of an onshore wind power plant composed of 12 wind turbines of G.52-850 kW located in the south of Algeria. System life cycle analysis consists of evaluating the equivalent CO₂ gas emissions produced during the four phases of the system: manufacturing phase, transport phase, installation phase, operation and maintenance phase and finally dismantling and disposal phase. Life cycle studies have become an essential tool for planning, designing and improving environmental contingencies.