CYCLEWIND

Objectives

As wind energy deployment accelerates worldwide, robust and transparent environmental assessments are increasingly required to support technology development, policy decisions, and investment strategies. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) provides a comprehensive framework to evaluate the environmental impacts of wind energy systems throughout their life cycle, including material extraction, manufacturing, installation, operation, and end-of-life management.

However, current LCA studies of wind power often show significant variations due to inconsistent methodologies, differing system boundaries, and limited availability of high-quality life cycle inventory data. These inconsistencies reduce comparability between studies and limit the usefulness of LCA results for decision-making by industry and policymakers.

The IEA Wind TCP Task 60 – CYCLEWIND aims to address these challenges by developing a harmonised framework for life cycle assessment of electricity generation from wind energy. The Task brings together international experts from academia, industry, and government to improve methodological consistency, transparency, and data availability.

The main objectives of Task 60 are to:

• Develop internationally accepted methodology guidelines for harmonised LCA of wind power systems.
• Improve the consistency and transparency of environmental impact assessments across wind technologies and regions.
• Develop updated life cycle inventory datasets and reference cases for onshore and offshore wind power.
• Facilitate knowledge exchange and collaboration across the wind energy community and related energy sectors.

By providing harmonised methodologies and improved datasets, Task 60 supports informed decision-making for sustainable wind energy deployment and contributes to strengthening the environmental performance of wind power technologies.

Participation

Task 60 – CYCLEWIND brings together 46 experts from research institutions, industry, and international organisations involved in wind energy and life cycle assessment. The Task currently includes participants from 9 countries and one sponsor member representing wind turbine manufacturers, research institutes, energy companies, and industry associations.

Participants collaborate through regular meetings, workshops, and joint research activities organised within the Task work packages. These activities enable knowledge exchange across the wind energy value chain and facilitate the development of harmonised methodologies and datasets.

The Task also engages a broader community of stakeholders through workshops, dissemination activities, and collaboration with other IEA Wind Tasks. Table 1 lists the participating institutions and organizations contributing to the activities of Task 60.

Progress, Results, and Impact in 2025

Task 60 – CYCLEWIND officially started in 2025 with the objective of developing a harmonised framework for life cycle assessment (LCA) of wind power systems. The Task focuses on improving methodological consistency, transparency, and data availability for environmental assessments of wind energy technologies.

Research activities

In 2025, the Task initiated activities across its main work packages covering methodology development, life cycle inventories, case studies, and collaboration with stakeholders (Figure 1).

Within Work Package 1 (LCA Methodology), participants began developing the structure of the methodology guidelines for LCA of wind power. Initial work focused on defining key methodological aspects including system boundaries, impact assessment approaches, and modelling of end-of-life scenarios for wind energy systems. Particular attention was given to harmonising modelling choices such as lifetime assumptions, allocation approaches, and reporting requirements. The activities carried out in 2025 contribute to improving the reliability and comparability of environmental assessments of wind power technologies. Harmonised LCA methodologies support industry stakeholders in evaluating the environmental performance of wind energy systems and enable more consistent reporting across projects.

Work Package 2 (Inventories) focused on the preparation of life cycle inventory datasets and reference cases for onshore and offshore wind power systems. Participants stafigrted compiling available data sources and identifying data gaps across the wind energy supply chain. These efforts aim to improve transparency and provide representative datasets for use in LCA studies. These in-development datasets enable more consistent reporting across projects.

In Work Package 3 (Case Studies), participants began highlighting case studies applying the harmonised LCA framework to representative wind energy systems. These case studies are intended to be explored after the publication of the Methodology Guidelines with the aim to demonstrate the importance of consistent methodological assumptions and illustrate the application of the harmonised framework.

Work Package 4 (Collaboration, Communication and Decision Support) focuses on knowledge exchange and dissemination. Activities in 2025 included establishing collaboration with other IEA Wind Tasks, namely: 42 – Extension of Lifetime of Wind Turbine, 45 - Recycling Wind Turbine, 54 - Researching Wind Power in Cold Climates, 59 - WREN, and 43- Digitalization addressing topics such as recycling, turbine lifetime extension, environmental impacts. The Task also provides valuable input for policymakers considering the inclusion of environmental criteria in renewable energy auctions and other policy instruments. Harmonised LCA approaches can support transparent decision-making and facilitate the integration of sustainability considerations such as full life cycle emissions going beyond only impacts on climate change and end of life management in future wind energy deployment. In addition, the Task provides an international platform for collaboration between researchers, industry representatives, and policymakers, enabling knowledge sharing and the development of best practices for environmental sustainability assessment of wind power.

Impact and benefits

Public participations in 2025 were in 3-4 June in Dublin, together with IEA WIND Tasks 42 & 45 during the Workshop “Sustainability and Extension of Wind Turbine Lifetime” initiated by the The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland as well as with a conference presentation and poster at the Life Cycle Management Conference in Palermo, in 9-12th September.Tuesday 3rd June | SEAI IWERN: Wind Farm Sustainability

Next steps

In 2026, Task 60 will continue developing the harmonised methodology guidelines for life cycle assessment of wind power and advance the preparation of life cycle inventory datasets for onshore and offshore wind technologies. Additional activities will include the development of case studies applying the harmonised framework and the preparation of policy-relevant outputs such as factsheets and recommendations for the use of LCA in energy policy and auction design. Collaboration with other IEA Tasks and international initiatives will continue to support knowledge exchange and methodological alignment across renewable energy technologies.

References

1. [1] H Kröhnert, A Frehner, M Stucki (2025). Bringing wind energy models up to speed: updated life cycle inventory data for on-and offshore wind energy generation.12th International Conference on Life Cycle Management (LCM), Palermo, Italy, Conference Presentation