Abstract:
In recent years, there have been increasing advances in the field of wind
farms. A growing interest for wind farms brings, at the same time concerns
about potential impacts on the environment. An extensive study has been
conducted to contribute to the existing knowledge about influences of wind
energy systems on the environment. The study involves the following stages: to
measure the environmental impact of a single Vesta NM82 wind
turbine, including all stages from raw material extraction to the end of life stage;
in the next stage, the emissions resulting from electricity generation by wind
energy extraction and coal use and combustion are compared.
This study also demonstrates the potential of wind energy production
sector and the necessity in development of energy production from renewable
sources. In addition, this study demonstrates the importance of material
recycling, which alleviates some of the negative impacts to the environment.
During the research, it was realized that wind turbines, combined with
additional energy sources, have significantly lower impact to the environment in
comparison with coal energy. Furthermore, proper selection of materials is
found to be one of the most important issues that one should take into account