20 ms·
This is also true for solar panels too though - they require rare earth materials. And large scale wind farms can have accidents and fires and harm wildlife. D
by schnitzelstoat 5y ago
This is also true for solar panels too though - they require rare earth materials. And large scale wind farms can have accidents and fires and harm wildlife.
Doing anything at scale is difficult.
- bayesian_horse 5y agoI'd be surprised if windmills or solar panels require as much mining per power output as nuclear power... And you don't have to handle them like the are, well, radioactive...
- pfdietz 5y agoSolar panels do not require rare earth materials.
- hkt 5y agoWind turbines do though - neodynium, if memory serves.
- cesarb 5y agoDo they require neodynium permanent magnets? AFAIK, there are generators (including big generators at hydroelectric power plants) which use electromagnets instead. The same applies to electric motors; there are some which use permanent magnets, and some (induction motors) which don't.
- philipkglass 5y agoThe majority of wind turbines use electromagnets. You can see it in this industry report graphic: https://nawindpower.com/gwec-tier-one-turbine-suppliers-gained-market-share-in-2018 https://nawindpower.com/gwec-tier-one-turbine-suppliers-gain... "Conventional drive" and "Direct drive - EESG DD" add up to 75.5% market share. These designs don't use permanent magnets.
- jhgb 5y agoThey don't either, it's just that PMG turbines are somewhat more preferred if you can build them. If you can't, nothing prevents you from building turbines with induction generators.