Life cycle assessment of a point absorber wave energy converter
Harnessing wave energy from the oceans using wave energy converters (WECs) offers a huge opportunity to diversify Europe's future renewable energy system. Although the energy conversion of this pre-commercial technology is not directly linked to greenhouse gas emissions, environmental sustainab...
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| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Cleaner Environmental Systems |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266678942500011X |
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| author | Tabea Engelfried Stefano Cucurachi George Lavidas |
| author_facet | Tabea Engelfried Stefano Cucurachi George Lavidas |
| author_sort | Tabea Engelfried |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Harnessing wave energy from the oceans using wave energy converters (WECs) offers a huge opportunity to diversify Europe's future renewable energy system. Although the energy conversion of this pre-commercial technology is not directly linked to greenhouse gas emissions, environmental sustainability over the full life cycle needs to be ensured for a future-proof large-scale application of WECs. Therefore, we present a cradle-to-grave full life cycle assessment (LCA) study for a generic point absorber WEC based on a fully transparent and adaptable life cycle inventory. Within the study we assess the environmental impacts of a single point absorber device, the influence of different hull materials, hotspots in the impacts of WEC components, and variations induced by different deployment locations. For a WEC deployed in the North Sea, we found a global warming impact of 300-325gCO2eq./kWh with periphery and 52-77gCO2eq./kWh without periphery, depending on the hull material. Using an alternative fibre-reinforced concrete material for the hull can reduce the impact across all categories by between 10% (marine eutrophication) and 78% (human toxicity, carcinogenic). In addition to the WEC itself we found that the electrical cable and vessel operations, particularly for maintenance, are significant contributors. These two elements will also be relevant to other marine renewables such as offshore wind and floating solar. Overall, this study shows potential for improving environmental impacts from WECs and identifies possible levers to achieve such a reduction. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5893a53500bd485894be4c5887f8af8f |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2666-7894 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cleaner Environmental Systems |
| spelling | doaj-art-5893a53500bd485894be4c5887f8af8f2025-08-20T02:52:27ZengElsevierCleaner Environmental Systems2666-78942025-03-011610026510.1016/j.cesys.2025.100265Life cycle assessment of a point absorber wave energy converterTabea Engelfried0Stefano Cucurachi1George Lavidas2Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Stevinweg, 1, Delft, 2628, CN, the Netherlands; Corresponding author.Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML), Leiden University, P.O. Box 9581, Leiden, 2300, RA, the NetherlandsFaculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Stevinweg, 1, Delft, 2628, CN, the NetherlandsHarnessing wave energy from the oceans using wave energy converters (WECs) offers a huge opportunity to diversify Europe's future renewable energy system. Although the energy conversion of this pre-commercial technology is not directly linked to greenhouse gas emissions, environmental sustainability over the full life cycle needs to be ensured for a future-proof large-scale application of WECs. Therefore, we present a cradle-to-grave full life cycle assessment (LCA) study for a generic point absorber WEC based on a fully transparent and adaptable life cycle inventory. Within the study we assess the environmental impacts of a single point absorber device, the influence of different hull materials, hotspots in the impacts of WEC components, and variations induced by different deployment locations. For a WEC deployed in the North Sea, we found a global warming impact of 300-325gCO2eq./kWh with periphery and 52-77gCO2eq./kWh without periphery, depending on the hull material. Using an alternative fibre-reinforced concrete material for the hull can reduce the impact across all categories by between 10% (marine eutrophication) and 78% (human toxicity, carcinogenic). In addition to the WEC itself we found that the electrical cable and vessel operations, particularly for maintenance, are significant contributors. These two elements will also be relevant to other marine renewables such as offshore wind and floating solar. Overall, this study shows potential for improving environmental impacts from WECs and identifies possible levers to achieve such a reduction.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266678942500011XWave energy converterLife cycle assessmentRenewable energyPoint absorberLife cycle inventory |
| spellingShingle | Tabea Engelfried Stefano Cucurachi George Lavidas Life cycle assessment of a point absorber wave energy converter Cleaner Environmental Systems Wave energy converter Life cycle assessment Renewable energy Point absorber Life cycle inventory |
| title | Life cycle assessment of a point absorber wave energy converter |
| title_full | Life cycle assessment of a point absorber wave energy converter |
| title_fullStr | Life cycle assessment of a point absorber wave energy converter |
| title_full_unstemmed | Life cycle assessment of a point absorber wave energy converter |
| title_short | Life cycle assessment of a point absorber wave energy converter |
| title_sort | life cycle assessment of a point absorber wave energy converter |
| topic | Wave energy converter Life cycle assessment Renewable energy Point absorber Life cycle inventory |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266678942500011X |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT tabeaengelfried lifecycleassessmentofapointabsorberwaveenergyconverter AT stefanocucurachi lifecycleassessmentofapointabsorberwaveenergyconverter AT georgelavidas lifecycleassessmentofapointabsorberwaveenergyconverter |