LCA-Based Regional Distribution and Transference of Carbon Emissions from Wind Farms in China

Abstract

As a clean form of energy utilization, wind power is important for alleviating climate change. Although no direct carbon emissions occur in wind power generation, there exist upstream carbon emissions from manufacturing and installation, which have indirect effects on both the locations of wind farms and areas involved in upstream production and manufacturing. In this paper, based on Input–Output based Life Cycle Analysis (IO-LCA), we explored the lifetime carbon emissions of 378 wind farms in China that were still in operation in 2015. The regional distributions of carbon emissions from wind farms during the whole lifetime were depicted. The embodied carbon emission transfers from the location of the wind farm operation to upstream turbine manufacturing regions were traced. The net emission reduction benefits among regions were also calculated. Results show that carbon emissions mainly distribute in Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, and Tianjin in the turbine manufacturing stage, with a total amount of 3.36 MT. Inner Mongolia contributes the largest carbon emissions (5.94 MT) in the farm construction stage. Inner Mongolia has transferred about 0.99 MT carbon emissions to itself and has the largest net emission reduction. Recognizing the carbon emission transfer of wind farms and dividing the carbon emission reduction responsibilities among regions may shed light on supply chain carbon emission reduction and provincial carbon quota allocation.