Wind energy in Italy: mapping and environmental profile of electricity production from Italian wind farms

The energy sector is responsible for around 35% of the total greenhouse gasses emissions. Indeed, the energy transition has a key role in the EU goal of climate neutrality by 2050. The prospect of low-emission hydrogen production by coupling water electrolyzers with renewable electricity sources represents a potential breakthrough technology. In this work, a top-level estimation of Italian wind farms’ electricity production is implemented to enhance the emission factors database of wind electricity using the process-based life cycle assessment method. Results indicate a range of climate profiles from 14 to 45 gCO2eq/kWhel, considering an 18% uncertainty in the electricity production model. These findings align with existing literature and the ecoinvent database. Moreover, in all cases analyzed, hydrogen production through water electrolyzers, when powered by Italian wind electricity, has lower emissions than the EU taxonomy limit.