ENVIRONMENTALISTS making the case for a transition to renewable energy have often found the prevailing wind blowing in their faces. Solar and wind power have been dismissed as too expensive, too inefficient, too unreliable or too ugly. In recent years, however, the wind has changed direction. Even if these criticisms were once true, they no longer are.
But there is a counterblast that may yet force the wind to do another U-turn: green energy is very resource-hungry. Building an offshore wind plant, for example, consumes 13 times as many minerals as erecting a gas-fired power plant of equal capacity. According to the International Energy Agency, to hit net zero by 2050, the world will have to increase its production of minerals such as lithium, copper, nickel and the rare earth elements sixfold.
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On the face of it, that presents a dilemma. Our planet holds more than enough of the minerals, but getting them out of the ground is difficult without making a hell of a mess. Humans have a huge impact on landscapes generally, creating mountains of waste. Mining is particularly bad for the environment, though, consuming vast amounts of energy and producing more waste than any other human activity. Scale that up six times and it is tempting to dismiss the renewables transition as a green herring, potentially creating something worse than we already have.
鈥淭he carbon savings from a green transition far outweigh the costs of not doing it鈥�
Tempting, but wrong. Yes, mining as practised is an environmental disaster, but as聽 Will a scramble to mine metals undermine the clean energy revolution? reveals, it doesn鈥檛 have to be that way. There are huge gains to be made. Chile, for example 鈥� which is rich in copper and lithium 鈥� is pioneering the transition to zero-carbon mining. New mining technologies likened to keyhole surgery are in development too.
The sixfold figure also ignores the fact that fossil fuels are themselves minerals that have to be extracted at huge environmental cost. Take that into account and the carbon savings from a green transition far outweigh the costs of not doing it. Apologists for fossil fuels may try to smear renewables as being no cleaner, or perhaps even worse. As so often in the past, they would be both wrong and dishonest.