Life cycle assessment of micro-wind generators

In this work we present the results of a research project aimed at studying the production process of micro-wind generators, by performing a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) analysis. An evaluation of the environmental impacts produced by the windgenerator following the methodology prescribed by the ISO 14040 norm-series has been performed. To have valence in the private decisional sector, the LCA has to account for all the environmental consequences deriving from the entire life cycle of the materials and processes which constitute the system under observation. In this work the annual energy production of a wind generator endowed with a 1kWp vertical axes wind turbine (VAWT) has been analysed. Also the 1kWp VAWT with a 1kWp and a 30 kWp horizontal axes wind turbines (HAWTs) has been compared. This comparison is made both in terms of the efficiency and in terms of the environmental/aesthetic impacts of the two technologies. The production process analysis, devoted to the acquisition of detailed information, allows us to discover critical points in it and to define corrective actions for the management of natural resources.