Integrated evaluation of embodied energy, greenhouse gas emission and economic performance of a typical wind farm in China Jin Yang, Bin Chen n State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China article info Article history: Received 9 May 2012 Received in revised form 12 July 2013 Accepted 14 July 2013 Available online 7 August 2013 Keywords: Wind farm Greenhouse gas emission Embodied energy Economic evaluation abstract An integrated evaluation of embodied energy, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, and economic performance of a wind power generation system in China was conducted, using a range of indicators. Energy and GHG emission costs per unit profit are proposed as goal functions for potential low-carbon, high-efficiency optimization of the wind power generation system. Results show that the energy efficiency and GHG emission per energy output of the system are 0.034 MJ/MJ and 0.002 kgCO 2 -eq/MJ, respectively. Compared with other power generation systems, wind power is more competitive in terms of both energy savings and GHG emission reduction. If wind turbine recycling in the dismantling phase is taken into consideration, 46.7% of energy will be saved, with a material recycling rate of 0.467. Scenario analyses are done to investigate economic feasibility, from the perspective of investors and government. Finally, suggestions are provided to shed light on wind industry development in China. & 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Contents 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................ 559 2. Methodology ....................................................................................................... 562 3. Case study ......................................................................................................... 563 3.1. System boundary .............................................................................................. 563 3.2. Inventory analysis ............................................................................................. 563 3.2.1. Transportation ......................................................................................... 563 3.2.2. Construction........................................................................................... 563 3.2.3. Operation ............................................................................................. 564 3.2.4. Dismantling ........................................................................................... 564 3.3. Data sources.................................................................................................. 564 4. Results and discussion................................................................................................ 564 4.1. Embodied energy performance ................................................................................... 564 4.2. GHG emission accounting ....................................................................................... 565 4.3. Economic performance ......................................................................................... 565 4.4. Integrated evaluation........................................................................................... 566 5. Conclusions ........................................................................................................ 566 Acknowledgments ....................................................................................................... 567 References ............................................................................................................. 567 1. Introduction China is experiencing rapid economic growth, which is fostered by intensive fossil fuel consumption. However, this development mode is being gradually threatened by declining resource reserves and environmental capacity. Tremendous greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels and unsatisfied Contents lists available at ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 1364-0321/$ - see front matter & 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2013.07.024 n Correspondence to: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, No. 19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing 100875, China. Tel.: +86 10 58807368. E-mail address:chenb@bnu.edu.cn (B. Chen). Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 27 (2013) 559–568