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Wind power does not, in fact, require rare-earth metals. Rare-earth metals are now being mined (mainly for fractional-horsepower motors) in other places.
by moloch-hai 4y ago
Wind power does not, in fact, require rare-earth metals.
Rare-earth metals are now being mined (mainly for fractional-horsepower motors) in other places.
- arcticbull 4y agoThere have always been rare earth metals outside of China, but the reason they're mined in China is only China has been willing to pay the environmental cost associated with their extraction, processing and refinement. As the peer comment pointed out you can have copper-only turbines but copper mining is an equally brutal process. [1, 2] Fun fact: copper is frequently co-located with uranium, radium and thorium. In-situ leaching can transport uranium and thorium into groundwater or surface water at the processing site. [2] [1] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/nov/09/copper-mining-reveals-clean-energy-dark-side https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/nov/09/copper-minin... [2] https://www.epa.gov/radiation/tenorm-copper-mining-and-production-wastes https://www.epa.gov/radiation/tenorm-copper-mining-and-produ...
- Schroedingersat 4y agoI did not, in fact, just point out you could have copper only turbines. I pointed out that there were also purely aluminum wound ones. Additionally trying to scare about the effects of copper ISL when nuclear needs the copper and then also leaching (in situ or above) vastly higher quantities of ore which transports far more of those doesn't really help your point.