asked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the carbon savings in tonnes per megawatt from wind-generated electricity. [HL1815]
The table below sets out the carbon emissions per megawatt hour from wind-generated electricity in 2006, compared with fossil fuels.
Fuel Estimated Carbon emissions 1 (tonnes of carbon per megawatt hour (MWh) electricity supplied) Wind power negligible Coal 0.239 Oil 0.161 Gas 0.101 Source: Derived from the Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES) 2007
While there are little or no carbon emissions from the generation of electricity from wind power, there are, however, some emissions during the whole lifecycle of a wind turbine. The majority of the emissions occur during the manufacture of the turbines—for example, steel for the tower and concrete for the foundations. Emissions generated during the operation of wind turbines arise from routine maintenance and inspection visits by road vehicles for onshore wind farms and by boat or helicopter for offshore developments.
1 Figures for fossil fuel emissions are the estimated emissions from power stations