Siemens Wind Power and Renewables has published four new Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) brochures, each representing one of the company’s four product platforms, covering both geared and direct drive wind turbines for offshore and onshore projects. Brochures aim to provide authorities the requested transparency on the environmental performance of Siemens' wind products. The figures are based on Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) of four defined wind power projects: two offshore wind plants with 80 wind turbines, and two onshore wind projects with 20 wind turbines.
Central to LCAs is the energy payback time calculation -- the length of time the wind power plant has to operate in order to produce as much energy as it will consume during its entire lifecycle. For instance, in an onshore wind power plant with an average wind speed of 8.5 meters per second, the energy payback time of a Siemens SWT-3.2-113 wind turbine is 4.5 months. This figure is based on a 20-turbine project, including a 13 kilometer grid transmission connection, and all the efforts involved covering material use, manufacturing, installation, operation and maintenance as well as dismantling and end-of-lifetime treatment.
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