Energy Return on Investment (EROI) of an Australian Wind Farm Supervised By: Andrew Wandel University of Southern Queensland Chad Haywood | ENG4112 | October 29th, 2020 Table of Contents Limitations of Use ......................................................................................................................................... 4 Certification of Dissertation .......................................................................................................................... 5 Abstract ......................................................................................................................................................... 6 Definition of Terms ....................................................................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 8 I. Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 8 II. Background ........................................................................................................................................... 8 III. Statement of the Problem .............................................................................................................. 10 IV. Purpose of the Study ....................................................................................................................... 11 V. Research Questions ............................................................................................................................ 12 VI. Significance of the Study ................................................................................................................. 12 VII. Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 13 CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE .......................................................................................... 15 I. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 15 II. Search Description .............................................................................................................................. 15 III. Conceptual Framework ................................................................................................................... 15 i. Embodied energy ............................................................................................................................ 16 ii. Energy Return on Investment (EROI) .............................................................................................. 19 iii. How Wind Farms Compare to Other Clean Energy Sources ........................................................... 19 iv. Wind Turbine Components ............................................................................................................. 21 1. Tower .......................................................................................................................................... 22 2. Footing or Foundation ................................................................................................................ 24 3. Other Components ..................................................................................................................... 26 v. Wind Performance Characteristics ................................................................................................. 27 IV. Review of Related Literature .......................................................................................................... 29 V. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................... 30 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................................................... 31 I. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 31 II. Research Design .................................................................................................................................. 31 III. Research Questions ........................................................................................................................ 32 IV. Data Collection ................................................................................................................................ 32 2 V. Data Analysis ....................................................................................................................................... 33 VI. Risk Assessment .............................................................................................................................. 35 i. Health and Safety Risks ................................................................................................................... 35 ii. Resource Risks ................................................................................................................................. 36 VII. Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 37 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS ................................................................................................................................. 38 I. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 38 II. Findings ............................................................................................................................................... 38 i. Typical Processes in Wind Farm Development ............................................................................... 38 ii. Australian Wind Turbines................................................................................................................ 38 iii. Embodied Energy of Australian Wind Farms .................................................................................. 44 iv. Lifetime Net Electrical Outputs ....................................................................................................... 55 v. EROI and the Lifecycle Energy Payback Time (EPBT) of Australian Wind Farms ............................ 57 III. Conclusions ..................................................................................................................................... 58 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................................... 59 I. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 59 II. Discussion ............................................................................................................................................ 59 i. Embodied Energy ............................................................................................................................ 59 ii. Lifetime Electrical Output ............................................................................................................... 62 iii. EROI and EPBT ................................................................................................................................. 63 III. Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 63 IV. Recommendations .......................................................................................................................... 64 References .................................................................................................................................................. 66 Appendix A .................................................................................................................................................. 71 3 Limitations of Use The Council of the University of Southern Queensland, its Faculty of Health, Engineering & Sciences, and the staff of the University of Southern Queensland, do not accept any responsibility for the truth, accuracy or completeness of material contained within or associated with this dissertation. Persons using all or any part of this material do so at their own risk, and not at the risk of the Council of the University of Southern Queensland, its Faculty of Health, Engineering & Sciences or the staff of the University of Southern Queensland. This dissertation reports an educational exercise and has no purpose or validity beyond this exercise. The sole purpose of the course pair entitled “Research Project” is to contribute to the overall education within the student’s chosen degree program. This document, the associated hardware, software, drawings, and other material set out in the associated appendices should not be used for any other purpose: if they are so used, it is entirely at the risk of the user. 4 Certification of Dissertation I certify that the ideas, designs and experimental work, results, analyses and conclusions set out in this dissertation are entirely my own effort, except where otherwise indicated and acknowledged. I further