Life Cycle Assessment of Floating Offshore Wind Farms: The Case of Hywind Tampen in Norway

Abstract

To address climate change and energy security issues from fossil fuels, wind power is a promising renewable energy source, projected to grow significantly by 2050. Offshore wind energy, especially floating offshore wind farms shows great potential due to higher and more consistent wind speeds at sea. However, these turbines have negative environmental burdens throughout their life cycle. This The present study focuses on a comprehensive cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment of the Hywind Tampen floating offshore wind farm in Norway. The assessment covers all stages from manufacturing, transportation, installation, operation, and maintenance to decommissioning, utilizing openLCA® software and ecoinvent 3.9 database with the ReCiPe 2016 impact assessment method. Key findings indicate that manufacturing is the primary contributor to total emissions, followed by operation and maintenance. The study emphasizes the necessity of developing more sustainable manufacturing methods, designing turbines that are more efficient and versatile, and better maintenance forecasting and planning in order to minimize the environmental impact of these turbines.