Parametric life cycle assessment of carbon footprint of electricity generation from floating offshore wind farms

Floating offshore wind is a major opportunity for Italy to meet its 2030 renewable energy targets, as the country’s deep-sea waters limit the adoption of bottom-fixed solutions. To assess how the technology can contribute to the decarbonisation of the electricity system, it is essential to evaluate its impact in terms of greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions intensity. Whilst there are numerous studies in the literature that focus on the impact of specific plants, the present study seeks to analyse the influence that different design and site parameters can have on the final footprint. The analysis builds the Life Cycle Inventories of the main processes involved in the construction, use and disposal phases of a semi-submersible floating wind farm and develops a Life Cycle Assessment model using the CVXlab open-source Python package. Results indicate that the GHG footprint of the kWh delivered is primarily influenced by the capacity factor, the capacity of the turbine and the end-of-life treatment of the floating platform. In particular, when the platform is not recycled, other parameters also appear to become relevant, such as the material of the floating platform and the country of origin of steel.