Dependence of wind energy on electric utility in the US

This study reviewed five unique wind system life cycle analyses to provide data to determine the energy input of manufacture of wind systems. The LCAs were chosen because they provided life-cycle energy data in a way that made it possible to determine only the energy input to production. Arriving at this figure required excluding energy input data that related to materials used in production, transportation, sales, management, or maintenance of wind systems. When present, these factors were subtracted from the total calculated energy requirement to arrive at a new energy input figure focused only on the energy input to production. This energy input figure was combined with data on the U.S. power grid provided by the U.S. Energy Information Administration to create embodied carbon projections for wind systems from 2008 through 2035 in 22 electricity market module regions.