Renewable Energy Needs Copper (And Steel And Aluminium)

November 4th, 2013 by Guest Contributor

Originally published on The Lenz Blog
by Karl-Friedrich Lenz

Says this article at Nature Geoscience. Their numbers:

If the contribution from wind turbines and solar energy to global energy production is to rise from the current 400 TWh to 12,000 TWh in 2035 and 25,000 TWh in 2050, as projected by the World Wide Fund for Nature, about 3,200 million tonnes of steel, 310 million tonnes of aluminium and 40 million tonnes of copper will be required to build the latest generations of wind and solar facilities. This corresponds to a 5 to 18% annual increase in the global production of these metals for the next 40 years.

Right now, that means that investing in Turquoise Hills Resources becomes even more interesting in the long term. I recall that I have them on my List of Global Warming Stocks.

Of course, Oyu Tolgoi is one of the World’s largest copper deposits. If demand is going up because of the transition to renewable energy, shares of Oyu Tolgoi will be worth more in ten years as they are now.

And if a large scale renewable energy project in the Gobi desert actually gets to speed, it will of course help to have the necessary copper resources right at the doorstep of the project, which would be another strategic advantage the Gobi has over the Sahara for the concept of energy from the desert (besides the convenient location right next to the gigantic Chinese energy demand).

Full disclosure: I do not hold Turquoise Hills Resources stock right now, but intend to invest there in the next couple of months.

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Tags: aluminium, copper, Nature Geoscience, steel

About the Author

Guest Contributor is many, many people. We publish a number of guest posts from experts in a large variety of fields. This is our contributor account for those special people. :D

Ronald Brakels

Over its lifetime a mediocre rooftop solar system will produce about 400 kilowatt-hours per kilogram of system weight. Coal produces about 2 kilowatt-hours per kilogram. The infrastructure required to mine and transport coal is massive and solar continues to improve in efficiency while coal decreases as the best deposits are used up. It is quite clear which electricity source requires the least resources.
Gerald Katz

Steel, aluminum and copper have a very high rate of recycling. If the large coal plants are closed down and the grid downsized fue yo less demand snd more distributed energy. A lit of metal should be available.
JamesWimberley

I suggest the quantity of copper needed depends basically on the level of demand for electricity, irrespective of the generation method. Wind many be a bit higher than the mean because it’s dispersed, solar a bit lower because much of it will be sited above the point of consumption.
For steel, a proper analysis needs to consider the reduction in use in vehicles. We will be replacing steel engines and gearboxes with plastic or aluminium-cased battery packs.

The wind industry needs innovation in tower construction to lower its steel use : wood, concrete … But remember that steel is nearly 100% recyclable.
Uwe Trenkner

Let’s hope Turquoise Hill Resources and other copper miners learn from Chile’s Codelco: They just opened the world’s largest solar heating plant. 39 000 m2 or 420 000 square foot of collectors will supply over 50 GWh of heat every year, displacing 85% of the diesel used so far. Here is a short case study of the amazing installation: http://www.renewablesandmining.com/ wp-content/ uploads/ 2013/ 07/ REM-codelco-case-study.pdf
Adam Grant

This begs the question, how much steel is used in a natural gas or coal burning plant, with all its supporting infrastructure including mining equipment, railways, bunkers, boilers, turbines, etc? Is it more or less than in a solar or wind farm that produces the same amount of energy per year?

I’m also curious whether it would be possible to smelt steel using concentrated sunlight. It would be nice to be able to replace coal in this application.
- Bob_Wallace
  
  Steel is processed in electric smelters. I don’t think they care where the electricity is generated.
  
  Some coal (coke) is needed in the steel purification process.
  
  I wouldn’t be surprised if these calculations overlook the fact that we will have to replace our existing thermal plants with something. The average lifespan for a US coal plant is 39 years and a lot of our plants are now older than 30 years. Our nuclear reactors are also getting old. We can push them for a while, but not forever. Something new has to replace them.
  
  I’d like to see a study that clearly calculates the cost and material needs for renewables that includes the avoided cost and material needs for the materials we’d otherwise incur simply replacing worn out plants.
Omega Centauri

“a 5 to 18% annual increase”
I hope this is simply poor use of the language. If I take it literally, that would mean an increase of over seventeen times (8% more each year than the previous year compounding).

In any case, assuming we are still deploying todays technology in 2050 (or even in 2025) is pretty pessimistic. Designs, including the materials used will change with the times. There is at least one company designing wood wind turbine towers -the tower is the big user of steel for WTs).
Guest

Of course if we still with coal we will need cooper, steel, alu
Aaron Matteson

is sure there are many ways to find renewable energy if researching Tesla, cheaper and feasible.