ABSTRACT
Energy production without destroying the environment has been one of the most crucial issues for the people living in today’s world. In order to analyse whole environmental impacts of energy production process, life cycle assessment (LCA) is widely used. In this study, two distinct renewable energy systems are assessed. First, a land-based wind farm which has been operating in Bozcaada Island since 2000 compared with a proposed solar photovoltaic power plant in terms of Energy Pay-Back Time (EPBT) periods and greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) to determine the most feasible renewable energy system. Energy production process including recycling phase evaluated “from cradle to grave” using Gabi for both cases. All scenarios are compared in terms of selected impact categories which are global warming potential (GWP), acidification potential (AP) and eutrophication potential (EP) to create awareness that LCA is useful and practical tool which help to determine drawbacks and benefits of different renewable energy systems in terms of their long-term view of environmental impacts in a selected region.
