4 ms·
If anyone is interested, here is a back-of-the-envelope mass calculation: Energy content of natural gas: 53.6MJ/kg=14.8kWh/kg Efficiency of combined cycle plan
by torpfactory 7y ago
If anyone is interested, here is a back-of-the-envelope mass calculation:
Energy content of natural gas: 53.6MJ/kg=14.8kWh/kg
Efficiency of combined cycle plant: ~50%
Energy/Mass Ratio = 7.445kWh/kg
Mass of wind turbine: ~150 tons
Max power: 1.5MW
Capacity factor: 0.4
Lifespan: 25 years
Energy/Mass Ratio = 876kWh/kg
Obviously refining the materials for a wind turbine requires more energy than making natural gas. Also obviously didn't include the mass of the natural gas plant itself. Also obviously natural gas leaks are very problematic for climate. Also obviously if only the blades are discarded (and these are typically a small percentage of the weight), you could imagine continuing to use the tower, nacelle, generator, etc...
- gibolt 7y agoIs that 150 tons for the whole wind turbine, or just the blades? Most parts other than the blades should be reusable or recycleable. Could result in a 1-2 order of magnitude increase in efficiency.
- torpfactory 7y ago150 tons for the whole thing. Blades are like 5 tons each according to the source I looked at. Mind you this isn’t a terribly large turbine by today’s standards.
- perl4ever 7y agoI read it wrong at first, but I think the point is that the wind turbine is producing about 2 orders of magnitude more power per kg anyway, with assumptions biased towards natural gas.