Carbon Footprint
Square Footprint
13 kg CO2e / MWh
0.71 ft2 Land Use Change / MWh
Carbon Footprint
Square Footprint
13 kg CO2e / MWh
0.71 ft2 Land Use Change / MWh
If the average US home's annual electricity (10.715 MWh) was powered by wind, it would use:
16.4
Gallons of Gasoline Equivalent
139.3
kg CO2e
If the average US home's annual electricity (10.715 MWh) was powered by wind, it would use:
16.4
Gallons of Gasoline Equivalent
139.3
kg CO2e
The Carbon Footprint of wind power is 13.0 kg CO2e per Megawatt Hour (MWh). The greenhouse gas emissions of wind power are 37.4 times lower than natural gas.
If the average US home's annual electricity (10.715 MWh) was powered by wind for 10 years, it would result in a land use change equivalent to:
0.5
Parking Spaces Equivalent
76
ft2
If the average US home's annual electricity (10.715 MWh) was powered by wind for 10 years, it would result in a land use change equivalent to:
0.5
Parking Spaces Equivalent
76
ft2
Over the 20 year lifespan of a wind power plant, the land use change resulting from wind power is 0.71 ft2 per Megawatt Hour. If the same land was used for 100 years, the land use change would be 0.14 ft2 per Megawatt Hour. The land use of wind power is 12.1 times lower than natural gas power.
Data and Assumptions
Carbon Footprint:
- Lifecycle Carbon Footprint of Wind Power is based on NREL (2022A). Median value of 13 g CO2e / kWh is based on a harmonized value from 69 studies with 186 unique values. This value is combined from Onshore (12 g CO2e / kWh) and Offshore Wind (12 g CO2e / kWh) values reported.
- Lifecycle Carbon Footprint of Natural Gas based on NREL (2022A). Median value of 486 g CO2e / kWh is based on a harmonized value from 58 studies with 93 unique values.
Land Use:
- Square Footprint of Wind Power is based on Trainor et al. (2016). Value of 1.31 km2 / TWh (1.31 m2 / MWh) is reported in the study. Land use is 14.1 ft2 / MWh over the 20 year expected lifespan (NREL, 2022B) of a wind power plant. The induced land use change resulting from 1 MWh is divided by the 20 year expected lifespan, which results in a land use change of 0.71 ft2 / MWh (0.066 m2 / MWh).
- The value presented is representative only of the lifespan of 1 power plant, which is a conservative assumption, as it would be expected that a wind power plant would be replaced at the end of life and the land would be re-used. If, for example, one assumed a 100 year lifespan, which would result in 5 replacements of the wind power plant on the same parcel of land, the resulting land use change would drop from 0.71 ft2 / MWh (0.066 m2 / MWh) to 0.14 ft2 / MWh (0.013 m2 / MWh).
- Square Footprint of Natural Gas based on Trainor et al. (2016). The combined land use factor for all natural gas production methods is 0.79 km2 / TWh (0.79 m2 / MWh), which equals 8.5 ft2 / MWh. As natural gas is an extractive resource, land use change occurs every year, and thus power plant lifespan does not affect land use change. Land use change varies by the method of natural gas extraction. See the Natural Gas Power Carbon Footprint & Environmental Impact page for the assumptions made.
- Square Footprint of a Parking Space is 144 ft2, based on the average dimensions stated by Franklin Street (2019).
- Average 2020 US Household annual electricity of 10,715 kWh is based on EIA (2021A).
- Carbon Footprint of gasoline is 8.50 kg CO2e / gallon, based on EIA (2021B).
References
EIA: US Energy Information Administration. (2021A). How Much Electricity Does an American Home Use?. See Link to Source
EIA: US Energy Information Administration. (November 18, 2021B). Carbon Dioxide Emissions Coefficients by Fuel. See Link to Source
Franklin Street. (May 23, 2019). How Large is a Parking Space? See Link to Source
NREL: National Renewable Energy Laboratory. (2022A). Life Cycle Assessment Harmonization. See Link to Source
NREL: NREL: National Renewable Energy Laboratory. (2022B). Useful Life. See Link to Source
