The radioecological footprint of electricity production by wind turbines

Abstract

The worldwide transformation of electricity production goes hand in hand with increasing use of wind energy. The German 'Energiewende' project is no exception and relies heavily on the construction and use of an ever-increasing number of wind turbines. While the operation of wind turbines does not lead to the emission of pollutants (in contrast to, e.g. coal, oil or gas), the production processes of the construction materials do. Since the raw materials' production primarily takes place outside Germany, radioactivity and doses related to these processes occur at remote places in the world. This effect might be called an 'export of doses'. In the present paper, we perform a life cycle analysis of wind turbines, investigating the mining and production of the construction materials. We focus on rare-earth elements needed for the generator magnets and assess the associated releases of radioactive materials during mining and processing, primarily in China. Estimates of dose to the public in selected Chinese cities are calculated. Different electricity generation techniques are compared by the use of the quantity (collective) dose per GW per year.