Energy Efficiency

We know that alternative energy technologies have provided a way for us to harness wind and sun energy and make electric cars and low energy lighting, but there is a problem.

Not so much as problem as paradox.

The Middle East is known for its oil reserves,  Australia for energy resources like coal, uranium and some ‘rare earth’, but it appears that the ‘balance of things’ sees most of the raw materials known as ‘rare earth’ come from China.    

A ‘rare earth’ shortage threatens the world’s green revolution (and underlines my earlier article ‘carbon reduction or human reduction’ about reducing our reliance on energy).

The shortage of mud and minerals – essential to low carbon technologies – will curtail the world’s plans for a green future.

All low carbon technologies, from wind turbines to electric cars and low energy light bulbs, use elements known as ‘rare earths’; and about 95% of these are found in China and in 2009 the Chinese decided to restrict export of these essential metals and minerals and a shortage is predicted which could effect the development of green technologies.

The Chinese are not known for subtlety and their extraction methods are at best poor;  extracting and processing ‘rare earth’ is ruining thousands of villager’s farmland because their processing is messy, dangerous and polluting, as they use toxic chemicals (acids, sulfates and ammonia), also, workers have little or no protection.

‘Rare earth’ elements like yttrium and cerium are prized for their magnetic properties and high conductivity; low carbon technologies depend on them. While Green campaigners love wind turbines, the permanent magnets used to manufacture a three megawatt turbine use about two tonnes of ‘rare earth’.

‘Rare earth’ is extracted along with iron ore and pumped into – often times – frozen tailing lakes, where it mixes with mud, waiting for processing at nearby factories. Computers, mobile phones and energy saving light bulbs all use ‘rare earths’ processed there and local villager’s farmlands have been ruined by seepage from the tailing lake.  

China is now refusing to sell ‘rare earth’ as they can value add to it themselves and who can blame them …

Rare Earth factoids

There are 15 ‘rare earth’ elements numbered 57 to 71 on the periodic table, that are essential for new ‘green’ technologies; each Toyota Prius motor uses 1 kg of neodymium, and each battery 10 – 11 kg of lanthanum, both ‘rare earth’ elements.

Compact fluorescent light bulbs use europium, terbium and yttrium; without these they don’t work (thats why I said about 2 years ago we should have skipped from incandescent to LED; even though LEDs also use these, they contain no mercury) and the permanent magnets used in a three megawatt wind turbine need about two tonnes of neodymium and other rare earths.  

Hard discs, I-phones and various military technologies also need rare earth minerals and metals and although China has 53% of the world’s rare earth deposits, it provides more than 95 per cent of the world’s supply. In the last 10 years a 40,000-tonne per year global market for ‘rare earth’ has grown to 125,000 tonnes per year and by 2014, it’s predicted to be 200,000 tonnes.

Only two projects outside China are expected to be producing rare earth in the next five years, Lynas Corporation in Mount Weld in Australia and Molycorp Minerals’ Mountain Pass in California.