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What other, renewable, sources being constructed rely on much steel? Solar just now uses a lot of aluminum. Wind uses a lot of fiberglass. Both use a far bit

What other, renewable, sources being constructed rely on much steel? Solar just now uses a lot of aluminum. Wind uses a lot of fiberglass. Both use a far bit of copper, although aluminum works in wind turbines and transmission lines.

scythe 4y ago
Source? I would imagine rooftop panels use aluminum, but I'd be surprised if the solar farms did, since it's more expensive and there's no particular advantage. Wind turbine blades are fiberglass, but it seems likely the towers themselves would be steel (although there are relatively few towers, making this less important), since again it has excellent cost-to-strength ratio. But I was also referring to natural gas, coal, hydro, etc — steel is ubiquitous.
- moloch-hai 4y ago
  Wind towers use a surprisingly large amount of zinc. I assume this is sacrificial, to protect the steel against corrosion. But, yes, a wind turbine tower is a steel pipe bolted to a concrete base. Solar panel mounting rail hardware I priced were all aluminum. On a solar farm it would not be surprising if the uprights were steel. Floating on a reservoir, supports are probably fiberglass. It would be a mistake to build most solar farms not floating, but that doesn't mean it won't happen.
  - pfdietz 4y ago
    I presume magnesium could be used instead of zinc for corrosion protection. We're now seeing solar systems where the modules are simply laid flat on the ground, with a few steel anchors.
    - moloch-hai 4y ago
      I expect zinc is still cheaper than magnesium. The surprising figure I recall was that the weight of zinc in an offshore wind turbine installation was close to half the weight of iron in it.
      - pfdietz 4y ago
        The thing about magnesium is that it's available in unlimited quantities. It's one of the 30 or so elements that industrial society can keep using forever without fear of exhausting mineral resources.

scythe 4y ago

Source? I would imagine rooftop panels use aluminum, but I'd be surprised if the solar farms did, since it's more expensive and there's no particular advantage. Wind turbine blades are fiberglass, but it seems likely the towers themselves would be steel (although there are relatively few towers, making this less important), since again it has excellent cost-to-strength ratio. But I was also referring to natural gas, coal, hydro, etc — steel is ubiquitous.

moloch-hai 4y ago
Wind towers use a surprisingly large amount of zinc. I assume this is sacrificial, to protect the steel against corrosion. But, yes, a wind turbine tower is a steel pipe bolted to a concrete base. Solar panel mounting rail hardware I priced were all aluminum. On a solar farm it would not be surprising if the uprights were steel. Floating on a reservoir, supports are probably fiberglass. It would be a mistake to build most solar farms not floating, but that doesn't mean it won't happen.
- pfdietz 4y ago
  I presume magnesium could be used instead of zinc for corrosion protection. We're now seeing solar systems where the modules are simply laid flat on the ground, with a few steel anchors.
  - moloch-hai 4y ago
    I expect zinc is still cheaper than magnesium. The surprising figure I recall was that the weight of zinc in an offshore wind turbine installation was close to half the weight of iron in it.
    - pfdietz 4y ago
      The thing about magnesium is that it's available in unlimited quantities. It's one of the 30 or so elements that industrial society can keep using forever without fear of exhausting mineral resources.