Expressed the energy construction and the capacity factor
List 4 low-carbon energies. What are their advantages and disadvantages?
The Energy Intensity (construction) (units: MJ/kWnominal) is the energy needed to construct a power station divided by its rated generating capacity in kW. A power plant with a rating of 1 kWnominal does not actually produce 1 kW continuously because its capacity factor C—the fraction of the time that it is actually running at its rated power—is less than 100%.
A new generation of wind turbine is under development. The plan envisions land-based turbines with a rated power of 4 MW and a diameter of 125 m (about the same as the London Eye, one of the world’s largest Ferris wheels). One turbine requires 410 metric tons of materials and construction consumes an energy of 23x107 MJ. The anticipated capacity factor, C, is 0.3.
What are the nominal material and energy intensities of the new turbines? How do these compare with the values for existing land-based turbines in the Table next page?