3 ms·

> How many hours per day does a wind tower have to be working You are asking about the capacity factor, but that's governed more by when wind is available, and

by danans 4y ago

> How many hours per day does a wind tower have to be working You are asking about the capacity factor, but that's governed more by when wind is available, and is about 40-50% for onshore wind. > and during which lifetime to be able to pay up This is the payback time and there are several to consider. For the embodied greenhouse gases of the wind turbine, about 5.3 months on average: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6686152/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6686152/ > for all that steel, copper, aluminum, and a couple of rare earth metals About 6-7 years for the economic payback of capital costs (not counting the unaccounted avoided $ externalities of displaced fossil fuels). https://www.semprius.com/how-long-does-it-take-a-wind-turbine-to-pay-for-itself/ https://www.semprius.com/how-long-does-it-take-a-wind-turbin... Turbines last about 20 years.

onlyrealcuzzo 4y ago
>> all that steel, copper, aluminum, and a couple of rare earth metals > About 6-7 years for the economic payback of capital costs (not counting the unaccounted avoided $ externalities of displaced fossil fuels). Presumably, all that steal and other material is still around in 20 years to be resold? How much do materials like these depreciate over 20 years? I'd guess in REAL terms not even 50%.
- danans 4y ago
  > How much do materials like these depreciate over 20 years? I'd guess in REAL terms not even 50%. Historically (since 1975) metals have appreciated about 5x after inflation. Here is the 50 year price of scrap steel futures: https://www.investing.com/commodities/steel-scrap-historical-data https://www.investing.com/commodities/steel-scrap-historical... Stuff like composites for the turbine blades don't have a clear recycling/resale story yet, although there have be recent attempts to grind them down and turn them into other useful things: https://cen.acs.org/environment/recycling/companies-recycle-wind-turbine-blades/100/i27#:~:text=Fluffy%20fiberglass%20(left)%20recovered%20from,%2C%20and%20sporting%2Dgoods%20industries https://cen.acs.org/environment/recycling/companies-recycle-....

by danans 4y ago

onlyrealcuzzo 4y ago

>> all that steel, copper, aluminum, and a couple of rare earth metals > About 6-7 years for the economic payback of capital costs (not counting the unaccounted avoided $ externalities of displaced fossil fuels). Presumably, all that steal and other material is still around in 20 years to be resold? How much do materials like these depreciate over 20 years? I'd guess in REAL terms not even 50%.

danans 4y ago
> How much do materials like these depreciate over 20 years? I'd guess in REAL terms not even 50%. Historically (since 1975) metals have appreciated about 5x after inflation. Here is the 50 year price of scrap steel futures: https://www.investing.com/commodities/steel-scrap-historical-data https://www.investing.com/commodities/steel-scrap-historical... Stuff like composites for the turbine blades don't have a clear recycling/resale story yet, although there have be recent attempts to grind them down and turn them into other useful things: https://cen.acs.org/environment/recycling/companies-recycle-wind-turbine-blades/100/i27#:~:text=Fluffy%20fiberglass%20(left)%20recovered%20from,%2C%20and%20sporting%2Dgoods%20industries https://cen.acs.org/environment/recycling/companies-recycle-....