How does wind stack up on greenhouse gas emissions when the “total fuel cycle” (including manufacture of equipment, plant construction, etc.) is considered?
The claim is sometimes made that manufacturing wind turbines and building wind plants creates large emissions of carbon dioxide. This is false. Studies have found that even when these operations are included, wind energy’s CO2 emissions are quite small — on the order of 1% of coal or 2% of natural gas per unit of electricity generated. Or in other words, using wind instead of coal reduces CO2 emissions by 99%, using wind instead of gas by 98%.
Related Questions
- How does wind stack up on greenhouse gas emissions when the "total fuel cycle" (including manufacture of equipment, plant construction, etc.) is considered?
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