Life cycle assessment of New Jersey offshore wind
<p>As offshore wind gains momentum within US (United States) renewable energy goals, New Jersey's ambitious targets for offshore wind development represent a significant opportunity to reduce emissions and transition towards cleaner energy sources. This study presents a life cycle assessm...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Wind Energy Science |
| Online Access: | https://wes.copernicus.org/articles/10/1389/2025/wes-10-1389-2025.pdf |
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| Summary: | <p>As offshore wind gains momentum within US (United States) renewable energy goals, New Jersey's ambitious targets for offshore wind development represent a significant opportunity to reduce emissions and transition towards cleaner energy sources. This study presents a life cycle assessment (LCA) of a planned offshore wind farm off of New Jersey's coast, emphasizing the implications of a domestic supply chain. Key findings suggest that the offshore wind farm is projected to produce 0.013 kg CO<span class="inline-formula"><sub>2</sub></span> kWh<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span> of electricity generated, reflecting a 98 % decrease in carbon emissions compared to natural-gas-derived electricity. Further, when compared to carbon emissions from other renewable energy technologies, offshore wind outperforms both solar and onshore wind by 79 % and 43 %, respectively. This finding highlights offshore wind's role in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction through decarbonizing the electricity generation sector. This role is reinforced through the case of a domestic supply chain, a necessary factor in the mitigation of transportation-related impacts, like fuel combustion, to decrease emissions. Beyond GHG emissions, results indicate that the steel-intensive materials used in turbines and infrastructure contribute heavily to toxicity-related impacts, highlighting a need to seek alternative, lower-impact materials. This research underscores the potential of offshore wind to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and offers insight into the environmental dynamics and improved environmental-impact-based decision making to improve offshore wind deployment in the US.</p> |
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| ISSN: | 2366-7443 2366-7451 |