Colloquium: Kirsten Coutinho (FPT)
16 August 2024 13:00 - Location: Lecture Hall D, FACULTY OF AEROSPACE ENGINEERING, KLUYVERWEG 1, DELFT | Add to my calendar
Life cycle assessment of a soft-wing airborne wind energy system and its application within an off-grid hybrid power plant configuration
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.
Supervisor: Rishikesh Joshi